To Fight for Humanity
by Nanocowie
Summary: They all doubted him, his parents, his colleagues, but they forgot exactly who was in charge here. Harry joined the resistance group, the Reapers, at the young age of 9, learning their ways and getting back at the world who shunned him so. But one fateful day he was set to go on a mission, a peace rendezvous with their rivals the Skirmishers. One which would change his life forever
1. Chapter 1

So welcome to the next episode of 'Nanocowie should be doing physics but here he is on his laptop at the back of class not listening.' It's been a while hasn't it? I've jumped into a couple different things recently not the least of which were exams so that was terrifying. Formatting on chapter 2 of Digital Mess is fixed, and I've also been enjoying Darling in the FranXX, so you may see something of the sort later in the season. This one however, is due to my love of the XCOM series. I've re-imagined ADVENT into a criminal shadow corporation, which over arches many different terrorist cells across the world. Exalt, the Death Eaters, and many other terrorist groups will be placed under ADVENT control. XCOM, the origination, does not exist and the alien invasion, hasn't happened, and won't happen. Quick warnings. Death, Edge, Powerful!Harry, OCs based on my playthroughs of XCOM 2 WOTC. (Honos is my Savant Skirmisher, kicks major ass.). As well as some Tsun/Yandere traits. Enjoy my people.

"Potter! Report!" Shouted the leader of the Reapers, Volk, as the young man dressed head to toe in a dark brown trench coat with a dark mask covering his face ran into the room, slid into position and fell to his knee. As the youngest member of the resistance it was hard for Harry to earn much respect, or even recognition, within the ranks, so he had to follow the rules.

"Twelve dead, no casualties on our side." Harry reported, not showing how tired he was. It was tough work taking out members of the terrorist cell ADVENT without making a sound, but it was what was expected of him as a newer member of the Reapers. Harry could still remember the day when he was found by Volk, pilfering one of their safe-houses for safety

Flashback

A 9 year old Harry cursed as he heard the spell-fire behind him get progressively closer to hitting him. He knew it was a bad idea to try and steal from wizarding terrorists without proper training but he was so goddamned hungry that he couldn't wait any longer. He yelped as a small cutter dragged along his cheek, drawing blood as he jumped into an alleyway to avoid the other spells. What he didn't expect was when the floor gave way and he fell down the drop into a dimly lit room. Shaking the feeling of the impact from his legs he looked back up and saw that the trapdoor had swung shut and grunted. He didn't expect this turn of events but he was going to welcome it.

Looking around he saw that the room was mostly occupied by crates. Cracking one open with the small crowbar provided by the wall he looked inside and nearly jumped for joy, canned food and hard tack biscuits! Taking one of the biscuits he quickly dug in to sate his aching stomach and pried open a can of peaches, savouring the first fruit he could remember in years. After finishing his meal he explored around again and found more crates of different things, like ammunition, clothing, medical supplies hell even some weapons! Taking out one of the small, well made knives he gave it a twirl. He was sure that he could use something like this. He hadn't stayed on the street for nothing after all. Resourcefulness, stealth, and mobility is what they had taught him, and he was going to use all of it.

Finding a small camping bed in one of the crates he unfolded it quickly and dropped into it, savouring the feeling of an actual bed as he quickly fell asleep, unaware of what awaited him in the next morning.

POV change

It didn't take long for Volk to join a group of Reapers on an expedition to one of their safehouses when he heard that a small child had found it. The safehouses of the Reapers were one of the things they prided themselves on, but somehow a mere child had managed to find it while the smartest minds of their opposition couldn't find a pattern to them. Jumping across the roofs with his team behind him he dropped down from the fire escape he was perched on he kicked the small hidden button under a pile of rubbish and watched as the trapdoor opened.

Nodding to one of the Reapers behind him, a young American woman called Kelly, he dropped down into the room with her following him as the rest of the Reapers took watch over them. As Volk bent his legs to absorb the impact he looked around the room and realised that there was no child around, only the remnants of his presence. That was until he heard a small gasp and quickly turned around to see Kelly being held in a headlock with a knife to her neck, her spine specifically. Looking around the woman he could see the young boy looking deadly serious at him as he said. "Who are you people, do you own this place?"

Volk slowly raised his arms, dropping his Vektor Rifle on the ground as Harry put his back to the wall, with Kelly following unwillingly. Volk said evenly. "We do, we are not looking for a fight however, we only wish to fight ADVENT."

Harry nodded at him and twirled the knife in his hands, still dangerously close to Kelly's neck which caused her to gasp as Harry pushed her forward gently towards Volk. Harry dropped the knife and raised his hands as Volk looked at him appraisingly. "I know that there must be others above, so you win. All I ask is that I can feed and arm myself before I go back out onto the street."

Volk growled, ADVENT must have chased the boy before he found the safe house. "I have questions. What is your relationship to ADVENT?"

Harry growled at the ground and cast his eyes down before saying. "A sect of them called the Death Eaters ruined my life, I find that stealing from them is unwise but gratifying."

Volk looked at him evenly and said. "Explain."

Harry slid down the wall before falling into a comfortable position. "On my first birthday my home was attacked by their leader Voldemort. My sister managed to cause some kind of magic and made him vanish, reflected the killing curse apparently. My parents were out but when they got back they seemingly forgot I existed apart from when I needed to carry something, so I left. It's been...4 years since I left? But my progress has been less than satisfying."

Kelly gasped next to him and Volk's demeanour darkened heavily, yet another tragedy perpetuated by ADVENT. "Damn bastards, what are you good at kid? A child is less noticeable, and that's what we do."

Harry vanished from sight and Volk felt a small tap on his shoulder. Spinning around he didn't see anything before he heard a small yelp from Kelly and saw that she had her mask taken off and her hood taken down. Looking back to where Harry used to stand he saw the boy standing there swinging the mask around on his finger. Volk smirked at the candor of the boy and extended his hand. "I think we can find a use for you. What do you say kid? Want to finally try and make a difference?"

It only took a couple of seconds before Harry's hand met his own.

End Flashback

Volk nodded at the young man and said smartly. "Good, is the TVIP secure?"

Target V.I.P missions, Harry's speciality. Harry smirked under the helmet he had taken from one of their enemies and said. "In a cell, and I found something on him. It looks like a datapad but our hacking can't crack it."

Volk grimaced and said. "Good job anyway. I also have some news. The Skirmishers have asked for a rendezvous, apparently they want to negotiate a truce. I want you there, you're not as intimidating visually. You will be going with Lieutenant Dragunova, and you will be meeting with Prator Mox, along with an unknown Skirmisher we've not heard of yet."

Harry grimaced at the name of the former ADVENT terrorsow. At least 20 Reapers had been wiped out by that man alone and by sending him the Skirmisher's leader Betos was not showing any signs of being afraid. Getting back up to his feet Harry slung his Vektor Rifle across his back and asked. "Understood, when do we leave for this rendezvous?"

Volk smirked. "They wanted to catch us off guard, but we do not rest. Tomorrow you will be deploying to Dark Zone 12 and you will meet them on the overpass. Don't screw this up Potter, we can start to focus more heavily on ADVENT if we stop fighting them."

Harry nodded and bowed before leaving the War Room, passing by a couple strategists who clapped him on the back. Making is way through the darkened corridors of the Reaper Base he saw a couple of the more experienced Reapers smile at him mockingly while he evenly just walked by them. It didn't take long for him to reach the barracks and flop down into his cot, exhausted. Looking around he noticed that Lieutenant Dragunova was standing behind one of the bunks and asked. "You want to talk about the mission?"

Dragunova made a small annoyed noise at being caught and said. "Leave the talking to me, and keep an eye out for any ADVENT in the area. I don't want my record smirched by you."

Harry smirked and waved her off, claiming. "Sure sure, just don't go crying to Volk when you fuck it up."

Dragunova just scoffed and walked over to her own cot and dropped into it. Harry took off his rifle and began to service it, pulling off the magically enhanced scope and pulling out his wand to reinforce the enchantments on it. While he was only 14, and he wasn't formally trained in magic, he learned a few things from the captive Death Eaters he took for fun. Making sure the zooming and self cleaning enchantments held on the scope he moved onto the barrel, ensuring the suppression was enabled, then onto the stock, making sure the recoil dampening charms were in place.

Finishing up his maintenance Harry checked the time and saw that it was about 9pm. Reasoning that he already had dinner out in the field before he came back to the base, he took off his helmet and trench coat, revealing his toned torso as he pulled on a light black t-shirt and getting under the covers of his cot he quickly got to sleep, intent on getting up earlier than usual in the morning.

Timeskip

Harry awoke with a start as he felt his small electric alarm around his wrist zap him awake. Turning off the alarm he got up out of the cot and saw that most of the Reapers were still asleep, Dragunova included. Smirking at the sight he pulled on his trenchcoat and decided to forgo the mask, instead throwing it on his tactical rig. Grabbing the Vektor Rifle from under his cot he switched off the safety and gave it a quick fire at the door, watching as the bullet buried itself into the wood without a noise. Nodding satisfied at the result he quickly threw a cleaning charm on himself and walked out of the barracks, nearly running towards the hangar.

Arriving at the hangar he saw a sight he didn't expect to see, Volk himself was standing there in front of the transport they were going to use. Volk noticed him and nodded approvingly. "Good, where is Dragunova?"

Harry shrugged and walked over to one of the benches lining the walls, sitting down and pulling out his rifle. "She was asleep when I left, but she should be awake by now. What do we have to work with sir?"

Volk motioned for some engineers to bring over a crate to him. "Dragunova could learn something from you. You'll have two claymores each, 20 clips of ammo, and a distraction beacon."

Harry whistled at the lineup. Obviously Volk didn't want to take any chances with that kind of firepower. "Got it. Do we have any intel on the unknown Skirmisher?"

Volk nodded and pulled out a clipboard. "We found out a little from our moles in their ranks. Apparently they are a 14 year old female, she managed to escape from their forced recruitment and in doing so kill the entire cell on her way out. Don't try anything with her, she should be stronger than most of the Skirmishers we've faced."

Harry nodded and heard a quickened set of footsteps from the corridor and saw Dragunova run into the hangar with Volk looking at her disapprovingly. "4 Minutes late Dragunova, get your ass in the transport. If you need debriefing ask Potter."

Dragunova made a small 'tch' as she walked into the transport truck. Harry nodded to the engineers and they loaded the crate onto the trunk as he nodded once more to Volk. "We'll come back with good news, I promise."

Volk nodded and Harry got onto the truck in the back. A masked driver got into the front and all of the doors closed when the engineers were clear and the garage door opened, revealing a ramp out of the underground complex. Harry could feel the truck spinning up and grabbed onto a stabilizer as the truck went from 0 to 60, speeding out of the hangar. When the truck stabilised he let go of the stabilizer and looked over to Dragunova who was sitting in silence looking over her rifle. Harry laid down on the seat and grabbed a small catalogue from under the seat. It wasn't much but it was something to keep him amused.

After maybe 4 hours they arrived at the mission location. An abandoned city which was removed from most maps due to the nuclear waste surrounding the area. Harry saw a soft red light in the corner and stood up, grabbing his rifle. Dragunova stood up to and went in front of him in an attempt to show dominance over him. Harry smirked and watched as the light turned green, and the door on the back of the trunk swung open. Harry checked his rig and saw that he had his claymores and ammo, along with the distraction beacon on his hip.

Jumping out of the trunk he took a quick scan of the area, not noticing anything moving. Nodding to Dragunova he said. "We're clear, overpass is 2 clicks to the north. Rules of engagement?"

Dragunova nodded and said. "Shoot, but don't kill. We don't want you hitting the Skirmishers do we?"

Harry sighed and ran off into the direction of the overpass with Dragunova frantically trying to keep up with him. Harry had spent lots of time on the streets, and so he knew the nuances of parkour as he jumped between surface to surface. Arriving at a junction he held up his arm to Dragunova and peeked around the corner and sighed. 7 EXALT troops were patrolling down the street away from them. Looking back at Dragunova he whispered. "7 Hostiles. 3 Assault, 2 Heavies, a Sniper and a Medic. We don't have to hit them."

Dragunova nodded and the two stealthily crossed the road and climbed up a rain drainage system onto the roof. Running along the rooftops Harry could see the overpass and fell to his stomach, giving way for Dragunova to do the same. Harry pulled out the binoculars from his tactical rig and took a quick scan of the area. He could see signs of a small battle but nothing else. Frowning at the sight he looked over at Dragunova and said. "Where are they? I doubt a couple of ADVENT could take them down."

Dragunova smiled conspiratorially and said. "I don't know where they are, but hopefully they're wounded."

Harry shook his head disgustedly at her and jumped down onto the overpass, aiming around with his rifle. Looking around he saw a small trail of blood leading up into a nondescript truck and walked over to it, hearing Dragunova jump down behind him. Getting up to the truck he tried the handle and felt the door creak as he opened it, and in his face, the barrel of a bull-pup.

Harry quickly dropped his rifle and help up his hands. Peering around the barrel he was met with the face of a beautiful young woman with glowing gold eyes and dark, luscious hair. Realising that this was one of the Skirmishers he said. "I don't wish to fight, I am Reaper Harrison Potter. This is Lieutenant Reaper Elena Dragunova."

He saw the suspicion in her eyes but she dropped the barrel of the bullpup and said. "Skirmisher Priestess Kaitlyn Helskid. My Elder was injured by a mine laid by EXALT forces in the area."

Harry nodded and Dragunova pushed him out of the way. "Where the hell is Mox?"

Harry sighed and grabbed the barrel of her rifle, sealing the insides of it. "Don't be aggressive Dragunova. This is a peaceful meeting."

Elena was about to make a swing at Harry before the twin talons of a ripjack curled around her wrist. Harry looked over at Helskid and saw that she looked rather angry. "I am in agreement with Potter. This is a rendezvous to negotiate a ceasefire. Please, come in."

Harry nodded gratefully to her and grabbed his Vektor Rifle and jumped up into the truck with Dragunova walking in behind him reluctantly. Inside it was dimly lit by the flashlight of a bullpup and Harry could see the helmeted visage of an Elder Skirmisher in the corner. Nodding to him Harry said. "Prator Mox. Your skills in combat are feared by many."

It was a veiled attempt at courtesy, but both of them knew exactly what Harry was referring to. Prator Mox was a feared sight among the Reapers, but he was not seen recently among Skirmisher raids on the Reapers. Mox shifted around, holding his leg as he responded. "My thanks young Reaper, my people speak highly of your skills as well."

Dragunova felt insulted at the fact that the Elder had addressed Harry first and said rudely. "I don't know what you Skirmishers are up to, but we're not going to fall for it. Volk will..."

She didn't have a chance to continue as both Harry and Kaitlyn hit her on the back of the head at the same time, knocking her out. She looked gratefully up at him as she said. "Thank you, she was not conducive to a peaceful meeting."

Harry nodded in respect to her and turned back to Mox, saying. "I am sorry for the words of my...colleague. I assure you none of the rest of the Reapers believe in the same things."

Mox cut him off with a baleful laugh. "Don't attempt to lie to me young Reaper. It is commonly known that the Reapers wish to see an end to all traces of ADVENT, even their most harmed group."

Harry sighed and shook his head, taking down his hood. "You're right Elder, most of the Reapers do want to destroy ADVENT in its entirety. But what you have wrong however, is that you are the most harmed group."

Kaitlyn jumped in with and angry voice. "How dare you! We have bled under them, died under them! How can you say we are not the most harmed group!?"

Harry held up his hand to her, silencing her. "It is the people. The people who live today under their shadowed rule who are the most harmed. They are so beaten down that their fight was taken out of them. They are who the Reapers fight for, and it is what we hope you will fight for too."

Harry's communication unit flared up and he heard the voice of Volk from it. "Potter, we have confirmation that ADVENT forces are on their way to your location. How are the talks going?"

Mox spoke first, slowly. "Volk, I am convinced. Your young Reaper is right, the people are the ones who come first."

Mox's com unit flared to life. "I am also convinced. Volk, I am willing to continue talks, and I wish to establish an alliance of sorts. However, I wish to keep my people safe. As a sign of good faith, you are invited to have your Reapers join us at our base until they wish to leave."

Harry smiled contentedly. Talks were successful, he was successful. Volk spoke up again from Harry's communicator. "Betos, I have no wish to allow Dragunova to be kept with you, but Potter is allowed to make his decision on the matter."

Harry looked around and he saw Helskid and Mox looking accepting of the deal and said. "I will happily stay with you until you wish me gone Elder Betos. Volk, what am I to do with Dragunova?"

Volk made a small hum as he asked. "Can you get her back to transport?"

It was at this moment when Helskid spoke up. "We have limited time. I will transport your Reaper back to your transport, and then arrive back here."

Volk said a quick "Yes." and Kaitlyn pulled up Dragunova, putting her on her shoulder. With one final curious look at Harry she jumped out of the trunk and grappled away. Harry closed the door to the truck and looked back at Mox. "I have some medical supplies on my rig, you want me to patch up what I can?"

Mox nodded gruffly and Harry got to work. Bringing out the medical pack from the small of his back he professionally pulled out the shrapnel from his leg and bandaged it tightly. "There, that should keep you going until transport arrives."

Mox nodded and motioned Harry towards him. Harry was startled but he heard him speak in his ear. "You have done much for us. I give my blessing for you to pursue Priestess Helskid as a romantic interest if you wish."

Harry blushed furiously and said nervously. "I hardly know the girl! Also we have much more important things to do and I..."

That was when he heard a small laugh from Mox and realised he was kidding him on. Realising the craziness of the situation he also began to laugh, the first time he truly had in a very long time. When they were done Harry looked over at Mox and asked. "So, what kind of training do you offer your soldiers?"

Mox stood proudly as he said. "We have them train for 3 years before testing them, learning close combat and quick movement. In the end our soldiers are expected to take down an entire squad of ADVENT troopers before we field them in true missions...Argh!"

Harry whistled and said. "Intense. Our training mostly comes from our background. If you die during training, tough shit in our case. It's kept the weakness out of our ranks."

Mox nodded impressedly, but offered some advice. "Be careful you do not lose yourself in cruelty, lest you become what you fight. It is something that we have to watch out for in our ranks too."

It was at this time when Kaitlyn jumped back into the truck without Dragunova. "Your Lieutenant is back on her transport and awake. Shall we proceed to our transport?"

Mox nodded and stood up to the surprise of Kaitlyn. "Elder! How are you standing?"

Mox nodded at Harry and said. "Young Potter provided some medical aid to me. It would be prudent to add first aid to our initial training."

Kaitlyn looked back at Harry and bowed low to him, causing Harry to blush heavily as she said. "Thank you for assisting my Elder, please, follow me."

Harry nodded and jumped out of the truck. Opening the comms to Volk he asked. "How long till they're on us?"

The comms flared to life. "4 Minutes."

Harry smiled and said. "Enough time."

Bringing out one of his claymores he waited until Mox was out of the truck and planted it on the door, but inconspicuous enough to not be seen if not looking for it. Looking over at Kaitlyn he asked. "How far away is your transport?"

She looked down at her watch and said. "They are free to join us in 3 minutes. When we give the signal they will arrive in a minute."

Nodding he looked up to one of the roofs. Looking back to Kaitlyn he asked. "Can you get us up there? Might as well take out some ADVENT while we're at it."

Kaitlyn nodded and Harry brought out the distraction beacon. Setting it to sound like a car alarm he dropped it in the car and pulled out the trigger. "Get us on the roof, I'll show you how a Reaper handles things."

Kaitlyn looked amused but acquiesce to his wishes. Walking over to him she looped her arm around his waist with a quick motion. Aiming her arm up at the top of the roof she let her grappling hook fly, attach to the roof and reel back, bringing the two soaring through the sky as Harry rolled out the impact, inadvertently falling on top of Kaitlyn. Mox also appeared at the top and laughed at the sight of the two of them. Harry shook his head and quickly got off of her with a quick "Sorry." Kaitlyn looked like she wanted to say something but held it back at the sight of her Elder, not admitting to herself exactly how fast her heart raced at that moment.

Harry set up his Vektor Rifle at the roof and donned his mask, throwing the hood back up. The internal targeting systems took aim at the claymore and adjusted the power of the shot and the trajectory. After a few minutes Harry said to Mox. "Call the transport." Mox nodded and hit a button on his comms unit. After a minute of pure silence Harry saw the first signs of ADVENT and smiled ferally. A General had shown up. While ADVENT had ranks far and wide throughout the world, and Generals were plentiful, a kill on one of them was one hell of a blow in an area.

Hitting the trigger on the beacon the beeping began and the ADVENT party ran over to the truck with their weapons drawn.

Harry waited, the sound of his breathing being the only noise as the General opened the truck doors. He breathed out, and pulled the trigger. The claymore exploded into a massive fireball as the entire ADVENT patrol was ripped apart by the combined power of the Shrapnel Claymore and truck exploding.

Harry stood up and gave out an insane laugh at the power he felt at the kill, and behind him Mox and Kaitlyn looked at him in slight awe. Mox came up to him and put a gauntleted hand on his shoulder. "It will be an honour to work with you, Reaper."

Harry looked back at Mox with the same insane smile on his face. Pulling off his mask he said as his dark hair fluttered across his lightning bolt scar. "And I can only hope to impress, Skirmisher."

It was around this time when Harry heard the whirring of the Skirmisher VTOL and saw the terrifyingly decorated aircraft coming towards them. Packing up his rifle across his back he fell into step behind Mox and Kaitlyn as ropes descended from the craft. Watching as the two jumped onto their ropes Harry tentatively went over to his own and put his feet into the stirrup. He heard Kaitlyn say above the whirring. "Pull on the cord, it will bring you up." Before she herself was hoisted up.

Giving the cable a sharp tug he felt the mechanism working as he was hoisted up into the craft quickly. Jumping off the rope into the craft he could see the pseudo tribal decorations inside the craft and nodded appreciatively. Bringing out his comms unit he opened the channel to Volk and said. "Mission complete, secondary objective cleared. ADVENT general is deceased. Orders?"

He heard Volks impressed voice say. "A General eh? Good job Potter. Rest up and learn what you can from the Skirmishers."

Harry made a noise of affirmation and asked quietly. "What's going to happen to Dragunova? She nearly cost us the peace?"

Volk sighed and said. "She will be redirected to ADVENT, and kept away from the Templar. If our old enemies can be peaceful, the Templar could be the same. If we all unite together we could start to do serious damage to ADVENT. On another note, this is the 4th General you've killed, enjoy the promotion."

Harry nodded happily. "Understood, Potter out."

Kaitlyn looked at him impressively. "4 Generals? You must be skilled Potter."

Harry looked at her and shook his head. "Please, call me Harry. And it's no big deal, hell TVIPs are my speciality."

Kaitlyn nodded happily, glad she could call him by his first name. "Well, I insist you call me Kaitlyn, or Kait. I am more specialised in eliminating large groups of ADVENT myself. I took down a group of 20 when I escaped from them."

Harry nodded respectfully. "Impressive, you'll have to teach me some stuff while I'm at your base. Also, if we manage to establish this alliance I'll get you a map with our safehouses."

Mox perked up at this. Taking off his helmet Harry saw his scared and wrinkled face with dark golden eyes. "The hideouts of the Reapers are some of the most impressive things we know of your people. How are you able to keep them so secretive?"

Harry smirked. "We stay in the shadows. With a combination of gene-coding and buttons we can allow only Reapers into our safehouses. Volk recently had our security upgraded on them as well, and we keep them off the grid. Everything is close-circuited through to our home base."

Mox nodded impressed. Kaitlyn was determined to not be outdone however. "Well...The Skirmishers have grappling technology, what do you have in the means of transport across the battlefield?"

Harry sighed and said. "We haven't figured that out yet. We just can't get it right."

Kaitlyn smiled happily at the opportunity. "Well, if you are to give us access to your safehouses we would happily assist you in the field."

Harry looked incredibly intrigued at the offer and said. "That would be...incredible. If we had access to that kind of tech..."

Harry began to think of the possibilities and Kaitlyn walked over to him, sitting down next to him. Mox looked at the two with a grin and brought out a medpack from underneath his seat to work on his leg while Kaitlyn began to disassemble her own gauntlet, showing him the inner workings. Harry was looking enraptured at the surprisingly simple mechanics behind it and took her arm and brought it closer to him, not noticing the blush coming from Kaitlyn as he looked down into the various pulleys and winches.

The two continued like that for a while until Harry's comm's unit flared to life. "Potter, Dragunova just arrived back here and claimed that you assaulted her during the OP. What the hell is this about?"

Kaitlyn held her finger up to Harry and he allowed her to take the comm's unit from him. "This is Skirmisher Kaitlyn Helskid. This Dragunova accused us of conspiring against you and made threats to myself and my Elder. Harry merely silenced her, with my help, before she could represent you in a bad light permanently."

Harry could hear the arguing coming from the comms unit and eventually it all quieted down and Volk spoke again. "Understood Helskid, thanks for clearing that up. Rest assured Dragunova will be...disciplined, and her interactions with the Skirmishers will be limited heavily."

Kaitlyn nodded satisfiedly and handed the comm's unit back to Harry, who said. "Sir, alert our engineers and prepare them for schematics. Helskid has demonstrated how their grapple technology has worked, and in return I have promised them access to our safehouses."

Volk grunted. "A good trade, good job Potter. When are the talks going to begin between me and Betos?"

Harry looked up at Mox questioningly and he pulled out his comm's unit and whispered into it before looking up at Harry. "Give it three days, and we'll send over a transport. We can exchange our offerings around the dinner table."

Harry relayed it in and Volk made a noise of affirmation. "Got it, I'll get the gene-code lab ready to bring in some Skirmisher DNA. Volk out."

The comm's unit died down and Harry sighed. Kaitlyn smiled at him sadly, not happy with the way that all the responsibility poured onto him was so daunting to him. A small voice echoed throughout the transport. "Approaching Homebase, prepare for landing."

Harry looked around and saw a stabiliser on the roof and grabbed it, putting on his mask and hood. Kaitlyn put on her own helmet as did Mox as the craft landed down into what Harry assumed was a hanger. From what he saw out of the window they were situated in a savannah somewhere with a complex around them. Everything went dark out of the windows and a small green light flared up above the door. Mox hit a button on the side and the door shunted open, forming a ramp down into the hangar which was decorated in a tribal fashion.

Pelts, armour and tapestries hung from the walls while there were engineers running around getting ready to perform maintenance on the craft. Harry could see a regal looking Skirmisher walking towards them which caused Kaitlyn and Mox to fall to their knees. Harry stood firm, knowing that he was representing the Reapers as a whole at this time and saluted her in his own way. "The hunt will not end, as will we. Greetings, Elder."

Kaitlyn gasped at his manner and tried to motion him onto his knees before the Elder walked up to Harry and held out her hand. "It is good to have you here Reaper, I am Elder Betos. Please, remove your mask. We are working towards an alliance you know."

Harry nodded and threw his Vektor Rifle over his shoulder, feeling the strap hold it to his back. Pulling off his mask and bringing down his hood he felt the scrutiny of the Skirmishers as he hung his mask from his rig. Looking back up and shaking her hand he said. "It is an honour to be here Elder, thank you for your hospitality."

Betos smiled at him and motioned for the other two to stand. As they did another Skirmisher came up to Harry with a crate and Betos said. "Complements from myself. However I hope you do not mind sharing a room with another Skirmisher, as my people are still unsteady with you being here."

Harry looked around and saw some of the Skirmishers were not so discreetly holding their Bullpups ready to fire on him and sighed. Pulling off his Vektor Rifle and his knife he offered them to one of the guards who took the rifle but left the knife. Harry confusedly said. "Sure you don't want to hold my knife too? It's been one of my main weapons."

The Skirmisher laughed behind his helmet. "I assure you, a Skirmisher will not fall to a Reaper in weaponed combat. Your firearm will do to alleviate our worries."

Harry pouted but sheathed his knife, giving it a small twirl as he did. "Well, I'm not sure if that's an insult but I'll forget about it. Anyways, I'm fine with rooming with somebody else. The Reapers all share a hall."

Betos' eyebrow went up and the rest of the Skirmishers looked curious. Kaitlyn clapped her hands suddenly and said. "How about we retreat to the mess hall? Perhaps we could share details on our cultures."

Betos nodded smartly. "That is a good idea Priestess. If anybody wishes to hear of the lifestyle of the Reapers, please join them in the mess hall."

Kaitlyn grabbed Harry by the arm and lead him from the hangar while most of the Skirmishers in the room followed them. Harry quickly grabbed the crate from the ground and hefted it up onto his chest. Walking through the halls Harry noted that the Skirmisher base was much more homely then the Reaper base, with rugs and tapestries decorating the corridors. Eventually they reached what he assumed was the mess hall and Kaitlyn seated him down at the middle of the table. Harry was reminded of a large mead hall as the rest of the Skirmishers took their place around him. Harry decided to speak up first. "So then, what do you guys want to know about the Reapers?"

One of the older Skirmishers called out. "What is it like staying together in one room? How do you keep your privacy?"

Harry rubbed the back of his head as he pulled his coat around himself. "We don't. In the Reapers we abandoned our humanity, for humanity. We don't care about things like privacy or bonds, we just want to kill ADVENT."

Another Skirmisher spoke up, this time a middle aged woman. "What kind of luxuries are afforded in the Reapers then?"

Harry laughed out. "Luxuries? We don't get them. If we want something we find it in the field. We get a cold shower every week, food is nutritious but not tasty. We are a military, we only need a fight to have a purpose."

The Skirmishers fell silent at that and Harry decided to throw up his own curiosity. "Anyways, what do you guys do around here?"

One of the Skirmishers spoke up. "We are never put out for more then three missions in a month. We are given credits based on our performance in our jobs and we can exchange them for our luxuries from one of the vendors around here. We have our own rooms and we have a solar heater which supplies enough hot water for each of us."

Harry whistled at the list. "Damn, nice lineup. What kind of training do you offer to your operatives?"

None of the Skirmishers spoke up but instead fidgeted around before Kaitlyn spoke up. "We have no official trainers which we are provided with after our initial field training. If we want more training, we learn it from someone else in the barracks in exchange for credits."

Harry blanched. "Well shit...In the Reapers any Major or Colonel is expected to train the younger Reapers in stealth, accuracy and battlefield tactics and utility when off duty. If we are killed in the field, tough shit you didn't prepare enough."

The Skirmishers were hanging onto every word and Harry leaned back in his seat. "So, anybody going to take me in? I'll need somewhere to stay for the next three or four days."

A couple of the Skirmishers raised their hands before wincing and putting them down. Following their eyes he saw Kaitlyn glaring at them from his side and she looked up at him and said. "You're more than welcome to stay with me Harry."

Harry grinned down at her roguishly and said. "Thanks Kait, I'll try not to get in your way."

Kaitlyn nodded happily and stood up, motioning for Harry to follow. Harry got up and grabbed his crate from where he dropped it and followed along with her. As they walked through the corridors Harry said to Kaitlyn. "Hey, do you mind if I grab a shower before heading off to train? I can imagine I smell pretty bad right now."

Kaitlyn looked at him confusedly before she got close to him and took a sniff, gagged and took a sniff of herself. "You're right, we both need showers. I'll take first, if that is okay with you."

Harry nodded and they walked in silence until the reached her room. Kait swiped a card over the scanner and allowed him inside. Her walls were decorated with different memorabilia and Harry even saw a couple Reaper coats and masks hung from the walls and he winced from the sight. Knowing the protocol for finding Reaper equipment in the field he asked Kaitlyn who was looking at him nervously, obviously having forgotten about what she had in her room. "Mind if I take the ID tags off these things? Where did you get them anyways?"

Kaitlyn timidly came up next to him and pointed out various coats and masks. "I obtained these ones from a Reaper camp a few years ago. It was a three way battle between the Reapers, Templars and ourselves. I found these off of one of their bodies."

Harry pulled off one of the masks and hit a button on the inside, releasing a small pair of tags from inside. Looking down at them he didn't know the reaper who held them and continued to grab more and more tags until he had stripped all of the masks and hung them back up. Noticing that Kaitlyn had gone into the shower already he dropped them into his pack before bringing out his knife and prying the crate open.

Inside were general toiletries, aerosols and clothes while also containing a grapple gauntlet. Whistling at the shiny new piece of kit he fitted it onto his arm and felt the trigger. Reluctant to fire it inside he took it back off and put it back into the crate. Taking out the clothes and toiletries he took off his trench coat and tactical rig and put them down into the crate in the space left from the clothes.

Waiting patiently he dropped his comm's unit into the crate as well and closed it back up. At this time Kaitlyn opened up the shower door and walked out in only a towel, which caused Harry to blush and look away to the confusion of Kaitlyn. She was wreathed in steam and was looking angelic with her hair draped over her shoulder. "What's wrong Harry? Are you feeling well?"

Harry nodded and motioned down across her body. "Sorry, but you'll want to get dressed. I...I'll grab my shower now."

Moving past her he entered the shower and locked the doors behind him. Dropping his clothes he put them into the laundry basket and jumped into the shower. Quickly turning it to a cool temperature, not just for reminding himself of home in his mind. Quickly shampooing his hair and soaping himself down he rinsed off and got out of the shower. He never really saw the appeal of a shower for comfort and usually saw it is a utility. Toweling himself down he got into the clothes provided and stepped out of the bathroom and saw Kaitlyn dressed in a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Nodding to her he brought out his combat shoes, with an extra amount of spring in the sole to keep him light on his feet. Grabbing the grapple gauntlet from the crate he looked up at Kaitlyn and said. "I'm ready to go." Walking out with her she locked the room and said. "To the training court then?"

Harry nodded, moving into his operative mindset. Looking around he saw that there was no good places to hide in the corridors, he would have to rely on the rooms to hide himself in the event of an assault. When they reached the courtyard he saw that there was only a couple of Skirmishers milling around, as opposed to the twenty or so Reapers in the courtyard he remembered.

Looking around he saw Kaitlyn standing next to a series of elevated platforms and walked over. She nodded professionally at him, showing a fully business side of herself as she pointed up at the platforms. "This is the grappleground, where we train to use our grappling capabilities. The trick to using it is to think of the trajectory as a harpoon, and aim accordingly."

Harry nodded and aimed the gauntlet at the platform. Pulling the trigger on the inside he felt a small shunt move his trajectory down a bit as he missed the platform. Feeling the gauntlet roll back he aimed it back up at the platform, slightly higher this time. Feeling the shunt go again he felt it thud into the wood of the platform and was jerked forward and was pulled harshly up to the platform.

Pulling himself up he felt a small ache in his arm and readjusted it back into position, wincing at the feeling. Taking aim again at a higher platform he fired again and was ready for the force of the grapple this time and tensed his arm as he was brought soaring through the air and rolled out this time as he nearly fell over the edge.

From the ground Kaitlyn was looking surprised at his skill with the grappling hook. It seemed like he was at home in the air as he soared from platform to platform quickly. She laid her face in her hand, curling her fingers up across her cheek as she admired his skill. Up in the air Harry looked up over the walls of the compound and bathed in the heat of the afternoon sun as he looked over the Savannah.

After he was finished he jumped down from platform to platform until he hit the floor of the training ground and smiled ferally at Kaitlyn. "I can make very good use of this. What's next?"

Kaitlyn smiled satisfiedly and turned her back to him, grabbing two ripjacks from a rack. "I will train you in using our ripjacks. They function as claws that can destroy any ADVENT armour in one swipe."

Harry nodded and took the ripjack offered to him. Attaching them to his gauntlet he watched as Kaitlyn attached hers in one motion and said. "Now then, try and hit me."

Harry jumped forward and went for the attack, only to find himself on his back with two ripjack claws around his neck. He saw Kaitlyn looking annoyed as she took the claws back and let Harry get to his feet. "It looks like your arm strength is not yet enough to use one effectively. I think weights would help you before you try and learn the ripjack."

Harry sighed and said. "If you think so. I think I'm going to stick to my knife, it serves me well."

Kaitlyn nodded and put away the ripjack she had on herself, as well as the one Harry was using. Turning back to him she held up her arms in a fighting stance and said. "Now then, I think it would be best if we learn normal close combat now. I trust you know how to fight bare handed?"

Harry nodded and brought up his stance. He never fought competitively but when you were on the street you used everything you had, and used it well. In turn he said "Best of three submissions wins, permanent debilitation is forbidden."

She nodded and shouted out to one of the other Skirmishers. "Give us a countdown."

The Skirmisher lazily said. "3, 2, 1, go."

Harry and Kaitlyn rushed towards each other and dodged out of the way of the punches that didn't fly. Both of them made sporadic swings as they rushed around each other, ducking and weaving under their blows until Harry saw an opening and hooked his leg under her leg. Bringing her down he laid on top of her panting and said. "1 to me."

Kait nodded and Harry got up from her. The two took their stances again, Harry panting while Kait was breathing heavily as the Skirmisher said again. "3, 2, 1, go."

The two rushed each other again but Harry ducked, the worst thing he could do. Kaitlyn held her fist down and Harry felt the knuckle crash up his jaw, causing pain to jolt through him. Kait jumped down onto him and help his arms behind his back. Harry quickly said. "Yield." And Kait got off, albeit slowly.

The two got back into position and Harry analysed the situation again. Kait was breathing heavily but he was much more tired. After the past two fights he decided to try and bring out one of his best assets, his legs. The countdown started. Harry looked deep into the golden eyes of Kait and saw that she was dead serious as well. "Go."

Harry kicked his speed into overdrive as he appeared in front of Kait and kicked out at her leg, not noticing her fist making its way into his crotch as he did. He felt the fist hit him but grit his teeth as he felt the pain spike through him before she carried through with the punch, bringing him over herself into a pile of the floor. Jumping onto him from behind she got close and personal as she kept him down. Not noticing his position below her he felt her warm breath on his cheek as he said. "I yield."

Kaitlyn nodded and fell to her side, falling into vertigo for a second before getting up again. Panting Harry stood up slowly and leaned against the wall while Kaitlyn got up and stretched her arms out. Looking over to him she worriedly asked. "Are you okay? You look dead on your feet."

Harry shook his head while still panting. "My...I usually use...Long range combat...I can't hold up...physical engagements for long."

Kaitlyn nodded and threw him a water bottle offered by another Skirmisher. Harry gratefully downed the water and passed it back to Kaitlyn while uncomfortably shifting his legs. It wasn't as if it didn't hurt, but Harry had been stabbed by knives in much worse places before. That girl could sure give a punch. Kaitlyn noticed his discomfort and smiled coyly. "Oh? You're in that much pain?"

Harry glared at her and stretched out his back. "Surprisingly, yes I am. Anyways, I've got to work on my stealth."

Kaitlyn nodded and walked off to spar with a couple other Skirmishers while Harry began to analyse what he saw from the top of the compound. There were a couple garden areas where they grew their food, which would be brilliant places to hide if he needed. Readjusting his gauntlet he fired it off into the grappleground and flew up again. Quickly jumping to the top of the grounds he looked around and held still for the next twenty minutes or so. When he was certain the Skirmishers had forgotten about his presence he jumped down from each platform to platform silently until he got to the last platform and jumped down into one of the bushes lining the sides of the courtyard.

Checking how many Skirmishers were paying attention to him he began to move from bush to bush quickly. Eventually he made a round around the entire courtyard and aimed his grapple at the grappleground, pulling himself to the first platform. Quickly recovering he pulled himself up to the next platform, the next, and finally he hit the top where he looked up at the sun, calculating his time. "7 Minutes huh? Not the worst I've done."

He heard somebody calling his name from the ground and peered over the edge. He saw Kaitlyn with her hands cupped around her mouth shouting up towards him and quickly got down from the platforms, landing gracefully next to her. "You called?"

She nodded and said. "We couldn't find you, last time we saw you you were up on the top. Is this one of the skills of the Reapers?"

Harry nodded, proud at awing one of the Skirmishers he had come to respect, not to mention his pride being healed after that fight. "The Reaper's shadow is their greatest ally. What did you need?"

Kaitlyn brought out a small comms unit and handed it to him. "Your master Volk called for you, but he couldn't get you on your unit."

Harry nodded gratefully and took the unit from her. Setting the radio to Volk's channel he opened it and said into it. "Potter here."

A small amount of static flared up before he heard Volks voice saying. "Potter, good to hear you. We've had news come in from Betos, she's talking to the Templars and managed to negotiate a rendezvous. I need you to talk to their leader soon, he managed to get wind of you opening relations with the Skirmishers and he is weirdly interested by your name."

Harry gritted his teeth, realising that this guy was some kind of wizard. It was a loosely kept secret within the Reapers, and as far as he was aware the Skirmishers were not aware of magic yet. "Damn, they might have found me. When is the rendezvous?"

Volk made a noise of anger. "I know, but we need to work with this. If your abilities are leaked to ADVENT we could have major problems later on. Tomorrow they are sending another kid your age, seems like we all had the same idea when it came to younger soldiers. We know their name though, 'Dementor'. We both know what that implies. You're heading to Special Zone 4."

Harry blanched. Dementors were one of the most feared creatures in the magical world, able to drain the happiness and even the soul from their victims. "We do, and I'm pretty damn scared. Anything else?"

Volk grunted. "You can bring one backup, but they're not bringing anyone else. Take Helskid. Three teenagers, it'll send the right message of unity. I've got to go. Be at the Zone for 0900 hours."

Harry grunted and said. "Potter out." Before cutting the connection. Looking over at Kaitlyn he said. "You down to come with me on this next op? We're making contact with the Templar."

Kaitlyn nodded and looked down at her watch. "It is now around dinner time. Join us for dinner, and I will speak to Elder Betos."

Harry nodded and followed the Skirmishers walking out of the courtyard. He was fairly certain he would be feeling the pain in his arm tomorrow but he didn't think it would affect his performance too heavily. Arriving at the mess hall he saw the Skirmishers taking various meats and vegetables from a serving table and went over himself. Grabbing a plate he loaded it with a large amount of vegetables before heading off to an unoccupied part of the table.

It only took a couple of minutes before Harry finished his meal, Kaitlyn hadn't even finished loading her food up. Often times Harry had to quickly eat on the transport to a mission. Standing up he wiped his mouth off and walked over to the top of the table to where Betos was sitting. "Elder, I assume you know the plan for tomorrow?"

Betos nodded wizened as the rest of the Skirmishers fell silent at his impudence. Betos spoke up with an imperious voice. "I am aware of the situation. You and Priestess Helskid will be deploying at 0700 hours. Your rifle will be returned to you at the start of the operation, and should you complete your operation successfully the Templar known as Dementor will be invited to join us. We have obtained more intelligence from your networks that Dementor is a 14 year old female who specialises in sabotage and spying."

Harry nodded and smiled. "Thanks Elder. I won't let you down."

Betos nodded with a smile and Harry walked out of the mess hall, not noticing her eyes looking at him contemplatively. Volk had told her that this operation would be slightly more risky then the last operation but she had waved off his concern, saying that she had full faith in Harry and Kaitlyn's capabilities. Harry arrived back at Kaitlyn's room and sighed when he saw that it was locked.

Bringing out his wand after checking that nobody else was around and pointed it at the lock, casting. "Intentia Alohomora."

The electronic lock buzzed open and Harry smiled happily. The use of the prefix Intentia made nearly all spells work on digital materials. All it took was learning how to tone down the magic used in a spell to keep the electronics working. Stepping inside he looked around and reveled in the decor of the room. It was themed much like a waterfall, with the shower being the focal point of the room.

Looking for a space on the floor he realised that there was no room for him to actually lie out on the floor, and with no couch to speak of he opted for the next best solution. Going over to the closet he opened it up and saw that it was full to the brim with clothes. Sighing he closed the door, not before taking a peek at some of them and imagining Kaitlyn in them. Stretching out his back he grabbed his trenchcoat and pulled it around him, zipping it up to keep in the warmth. Attaching his electronic alarm he set it for 0645 hours and leaned himself back up against the door of the closet. While it wasn't the worst arrangement he ever had it was pretty uncomfortable, but consoled himself with the images of the dresses Kaitlyn had in her drawer. He was a teenage boy who had just met a pretty girl for the first time, could you blame him? Eventually he managed to lull himself to sleep, falling deeply into his dreams.

Povchange

Kaitlyn watched as Harry finished talking to Betos and walked out of the mess hall, presumably to go back to her...their room. She was positively baffled by the Reaper, it went against everything they knew about them. Most Reapers they had met were ruthless towards them, even Harry's teammate, but he was even so kind as to patch up her Elder in a show of good faith.

As she finished loading her plate she was motioned over to the head of the table by her Elder Mox, as well as Elder Betos. Not showing her surprise at being invited to the head of the table with the Elders she walked over, bowed, and sat down at a seat next to Elder Mox. Betos smiled over at her and asked. "Priestess, what do you make of the Reaper?"

Kaitlyn pushed around her food on her plate and looked up at the ceiling before responding. "He's...Intriguing. I want to be his friend, and know more about him. I've never met anyone so enigmatic or...attractive I guess you could say."

Mox chuckled much to her embarrassment. Looking down at her he ruffled her hair and said. "Well, we always want to become more like our old selves. However, we still need to review everything we know about the Reapers so far."

Another Elder spoke up at this, this one being Elder Honos, their chief strategist. "The Reapers are too formidable to keep up hostile relations with. That was the intent of the ceasefire wasn't it? Eventually we would get to a point where our aces would face off against each other, giving ADVENT room to take out the surviving group. It was fortunate that we sent Priestess Helskid, considering we didn't know they were sending the Spectre."

The Spectre, the name Honos and the rest of the strategists held for Harry. He first obtained that nickname when he managed to capture one of the V.I.P's they were capturing from right under their noses during an operation. Kaitlyn looked over to Elder Honos and asked. "What do you make of the Templars then? If we are to rendezvous with them, what do we have to expect?"

Honos sighed and pulled out a small datapad with a file on it. Honos was one of the more human looking Skirmishers in their ranks, with only his iris' being turned golden and his face avoiding too much alteration. "All we have on the Templar's name is the nickname Dementor, no idea what it means though. She's also around your age, being fourteen or so based on the Reaper's intelligence networks. By the way Betos, we should begin planning for relays being built between us and the Reapers."

Betos nodded and said. "I'll divert our extra funding towards the project, don't worry."

While being the leader figure of the Skirmisher's, Betos was still an excellent finance genius, and so handled the budgeting within the Skirmishers. She was the main reason why the Skirmisher's could have so many luxuries, due to her incredible balancing. Kaitlyn frowned at the thought of another woman in Harry's life, surely she was all he needed...Wait what!? Shaking her head at the thought she finished her meal while the Elder's conversed. Sighing as she finished her meal she yelped when she remembered Harry leaving and stood up abruptly. "Harry should still be locked out!"

All of the Elders laughed at her demeanor while she blushed at the stares of the rest of the Skirmishers. Before she could leave Mox called after her. "By the way, you've helped seal the Reaper Skirmisher Alliance. Well done Sister Helskid."

Kaitlyn gasped at the promotion and bowed hurriedly to him while saying. "Thank you Elder Mox!" Before running out of the mess hall towards her room. Arriving there she didn't see Harry standing outside annoyed like she expected, but the green light on her lock signaling somebody was inside. Walking in slowly she quietly called out. "Harry? How did you get in here?"

Not getting a response she closed the door and looked around, jumping when she saw him sleeping against the closet. Realising the discomfort he must be in she knelt down next to him, checked that he was deep asleep before cooing in his ear. "Oh you don't have to do that Harry. You can sleep in my bed with me...You don't need anyone else do you?"

She had no idea why these thoughts and words slipped past her lips but reasoned that he was still asleep, so she continued. "Of course you don't, you have me don't you? Let's get you into bed, I'll join you in a couple of minutes."

Picking him up, surprised at just how light he felt for how large he was she took off his shoes and trench coat, lovingly putting them into his crate. Putting him into the bed she watched as he flinched from the lack of contact and smiled when he quieted down again when she stroked his hair, falling back into his peaceful sleep. Getting out of her day clothes she put on a loose pink nightie and slipped under the covers with him, clapping twice to make the lights go off. Cuddling up to him in her tired stupor she curled her arms loosely around him and whisper again in his ear. "There's nothing to be afraid of, I'll always be with you..."

As she fell asleep she didn't notice the small glow that appeared around them, yellow and red in hue. The aura swirled for a moment before splitting off into two small lights, containing equal parts yellow and red. The two lights shot into their chests, glowing inside of them for a moment before dimming down, leaving the two in peace...


	2. Chapter 2

Harry groggily got up as he felt his wrist being zapped by his alarm, feeling something heavy around his waist. Looking down he saw what appeared to be a pair of arms loosely draped around him, with a pair of porcelain white hands spread across his stomach. Blinking once, twice and then three times he realised exactly where he was sleeping as he turned his head slowly around to see Kaitlyn sleeping peacefully next to him in a light pink nightie which showed a bit more than Harry was comfortable with seeing.

As fast and silently as he could he pried himself out of her grasp which had significantly tightened when he tried to leave. Standing up he reflexively stretched himself out to work out any kinks from the sleep. He was surprised when he felt a significant lack of pops in his back, and felt much more comfortable in his own skin after the night's sleep. Looking down at Kaitlyn contemplatively he tentatively leaned down and brushed a lock of hair which had fallen over her eyes away and smiled. 'She looks so peaceful like this...This is what we fight for.'

Shaking himself out of his self-denied lovestruck stupor he gently put his hand on her shoulder and shook her awake, whispering quietly. "Kait, wake up."

She tiredly opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, rubbing them as she let out a cute little yawn. Harry refused to admit that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in that moment as he embarrassedly said. "I-It's about time for the operation. I-It's..."

Looking down at his watch he saw that there was about 15 minutes before they were scheduled to leave. "T-15 minutes before we depart. You take the shower, I'll grab one when we get home."

Kaitlyn sleepily nodded before stumbling off towards the shower. Harry smiled at her back as she locked the shower door and Harry could hear the shower turn on way before she could possibly have taken off the nightie, or returned it to the hot setting. Sure enough he heard a small yelp from her. He chuckled at her predicament before sobering up and taking two long strides towards his crate. Opening it up quickly he attached his tactical rig over his black t-shirt and threw the trench coat over his body with a flourish. It wasn't the best situation, but he could use it well enough. Reapers don't get hit anyways. Putting his wand into a secret pocket inside of his trench coat he grabbed the ammo clips he had remaining from the operation and attached them to his rig.

Throwing the hood of his coat up he took out his mask and smiled down at it. This was the symbol of his rebellion, his resistance against the world which doubted him so. When he donned this mask, he wasn't Harry the unloved boy who ran away from home. In this mask, he was Harry Potter, the Spectre of the Reapers. He struck fear into the hearts of ADVENT, and any other plagues on society. Affixing it to his face he grabbed his comms unit and placed it tn his rig as Kaitlyn got out of the shower.

Harry nodded to her from behind the mask and said in the muffled voice of the Reapers. "I'll go on ahead and do maintenance on my rifle, get suited up and meet me there."

Kaitlyn nodded, slightly intimidated by his visage. Harry grunted and walked out of the room and ran towards the hangar. Arriving there he saw engineers frantically running around the transport, making sure it was in working order. Seeing Mox and another Elder he didn't recognise looking at him he walked over and said. "Sir! Reporting for Special Operation."

Mox nodded, impressed by his professional demeanor. "At ease Potter. You will be deploying to Zone AS-21 to make contact with the group known as the Templars. You and Sister Helskid will have full operational authority on the battlefield, and your primary weapon will be returned to you for the duration."

With that Mox handed him back his rifle from where it was leaning against the wall. Harry took it with a word of thanks and looked it over for damage. Not finding any he brought out a clip, slammed it into the feeder and pulled back the bolt. Looking over to a blank area of wall he took a shot at it and felt it shunt as the bullet buried itself into the concrete. Nodding back to Mox the other Elder stepped forward. "Reaper Potter, the Spectre. It's good to finally command your skills in battle. I am Elder Honos, the chief strategist of the Skirmishers, and I will be directing you across the battlefield."

Harry bowed his head in respect. Volk often spoke highly of Honos, usually involving some curse words due to the failed skirmishes between the two groups. "Likewise Elder Honos. What do you have for us?"

Another Skirmisher ran up to them, handed a list to Honos, and walked back off. Honos smiled and looked down at it. "We have confirmed reports of ADVENT patrols in the area. Twelve groups of them to be exact. Can you and Helskid handle this?"

Harry felt a hand lay itself on his shoulder, and turned around to see Kaitlyn standing there in her Skirmisher armour. Turning back to Honos he smirked under his mask and said. "Of course we can, who the hell do you think we are?"

Honos laughed and put away the list. "I'll feed any new intel to you through comms during the operation. Get on the transport, you leave in...40 seconds."

Harry and Kaitlyn nodded and said together. "Yes Sir!" and got onto the transport quickly. Smiling after the two Mox and Honos looked at eachother with knowing grins. Mox spoke up first. "If those two don't get together anytime soon, help me do it."

Honos laughed and stuffed his hands into his lab coat pockets. "I doubt they'll get together any time soon old friend. You know how teenagers are, and with those two being the biggest enigma since the Bermuda Triangle we may have to do some pushing before anything happens."

It was around this time that the transport took off into the air, carrying the two young rebels into the air as the hangar doors opened. The transport flew out and off into the distance as a truck made its way into the garage. The engineers all moved out of it's way as a couple of the guards pointed their Bullpups at the unknown vehicle. It came to a stop as the door opened, and one man walked out. "So this is the base of the Skirmishers. Nice to finally be here."

Honos recognised the man from their files and laughed, just like the Reapers to catch them off guard. Walking up to him he said. "Hello there Mr Volk. Welcome to our little abode."

Volk nodded and stretched out his legs. "Took long enough to get here. Potter and Helskid are away right? I saw a transport head out as I was coming in."

Honos nodded as Mox came up to them. "Volk, it is good to finally meet the man from the shadows. I am Elder Mox."

Volk nodded in respect. "Good to see we're not dealing with any cowards. I've brought over our tributes for tomorrow. My people are still at the base though, I don't trust em to not destroy the peace."

Honos sighed and nodded his head. "If that's what you believe is best Volk. How did you find this place? We haven't sent our coordinates over to you yet."

Volk laughed and said. "All Reaper comms units are equipped with tracking capabilities. I waited until Potter's stopped moving, and then found your location."

Honos blinked before laughing out loudly. "Damn, that easy huh? Well, nothing we can't fix with your help. Won't your people be missing your authority though?"

Volk shook his head. "I only act as a figure head and strategist. I present myself as the leader of the Reapers, but if I were to be taken down any Colonel could take my place."

Honos nodded and turned around. "So you're much like Betos in that matter huh? Well, let's head to the war room and we can sort out our demands before the actual talks."

Volk nodded and they both walked out of the hangar towards the war room. A couple of the engineers opened up the trunk and found maps, medical equipment and various laptops inside of the various crates in the back. They all took one each and walked behind Volk and Honos as the two talked about the general goal of the alliance was.

 _Pov Change_

Harry finished up maintenance on his rifle and put it down next to him on the seat. Looking over at Kaitlyn she had finished assembling her Bullpup and was looking over at him with a smile on her face, which turned to bashfulness at being caught. Harry sighed and checked the time, 40 minutes before the operation began. Looking up at Kaitlyn he asked slowly. "Why did I end up in your bed for the night? I was good with the floor, I've done worse."

Kaitlyn shook her head exasperatedly and said. "But you don't need to do that. I'm fine with sharing a bed with you, I trust you that much. It's just that...I was…when I…"

Harry went over to her and laid his hand on her shoulder and took off his mask. Looking deep into her golden eyes with his own lustrous green he asked. "How did you become a Skirmisher Kaitlyn. Please, speak to me."

Kaitlyn tried to push him away but he held his ground, looking imploringly into her eyes until she relinquished. "Okay! Okay...Back when I was a little girl, my father was...well he was a member of the EXALT forces. One day, on my 6th birthday, him and a couple of scientists showed up at my party thrown by my mother. Th-they shot her d-dead the moment they got in, and then…"

About this time Kaitlyn began to break down into tears and Harry held her close, familiar with the situation from the few times he had to comfort a civilian who had lost their family. Kaitlyn sniffled a bit more before continuing. "Th-they...brought me to their f-facility. They tortured me, broke me and put me together st-stronger than before each time. When I was 12, I managed to escape when they were...testing me. I broke each and every one of their bones, even my...even my own…"

Kaitlyn began to sob out loudly as Harry brought her closer, rubbing her back until she finally quieted down enough for Harry to talk to her. Whispering in her ear he quietly said. "You're not a bad person Kaitlyn Helskid, you are not a monster."

Kaitlyn bawled harder and sobbed out. "How!? I murdered my father! My only parent left in the name of revenge!"

Harry pulled back from her and lifted her chin up to meet his eyes. He looked into her tear struck golden orbs and smirked. "Because I see you as a person, and as long as I live I always will. Revenge, murdering? You might refer to those acts in relation to a human, but your father was more monster than you ever will be."

Kaitlyn gasped at his proclamation, feeling an unknown feeling deep inside of herself roar itself into a frenzy as she threw her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you Harry...you really are the best…"

Harry smiled genuinely and hugged her back tightly before letting her go. He was about to go back to his seat when he felt Kaitlyn tug him down into the seat next to her. Looking at her curiously she smiled innocently at him as she pulled his head down into her lap, stroking his hair. Harry was about to protest that it was improper before he felt the wave of pleasure from the treatment fly through him, shocking his every nerve as he felt his muscles instantly relax.

Kaitlyn smiled sweetly down at him, reminding him heavily of an angel as he was lulled into a sense of pure safety by her arms. He didn't notice the time seemingly fast forwarding as he was snapped out of his reverie by Kaitlyn whispering in her ear. "It's time to get up. We've hit the AO."

Harry groggily got up, accidentally bumping into Kaitlyn's head on the way up. They both yelped as they felt the shock of the hit through them. Harry was about to apologise before he heard Kaitlyn giggling out at their predicament and opted for a small smile. He wasn't sure why she was making him feel like this. For years it was only about him, he was all he needed. He always saw others as a liability, a way for his enemies to hurt him. Now...he wasn't so sure…

Getting up he replaced his mask on his face and grabbed his rifle from where he left it on his seat and gave it a quick once over as the green light signalling their ability to start the operation flickered to life. Watching as the doors on each side of the transport opened up and ropes descended from small winches he nodded once to Kaitlyn before grabbing onto the rope and sliding down to the ghostly streets of an abandoned town in the north of the Sahara Desert.

The area was of little use to both ADVENT and humanity, but still there were multiple patrols around the area in search of human drug operations. Harry and Kaitlyn took a look around before running over into a building off to the side of the main street and hunkering down in the living room which seemed to be eroded with the time spent exposed to the elements. Grabbing his comms unit Harry opened up the channel back to the Skirmisher base and spoke into it quietly. "This is Potter and Helskid, we've arrived at the AO. Where are we going?"

A small amount of static was heard before an unexpected pair of voices spoke up through the radio. "Volk and Honos here Potter. 6 Kilometers to the north you'll find an entrance to the sewer system. Get down into there and you'll meet Dementor. Be careful, ADVENT com traffic has begun to buzz a couple minutes ago so be on the lookout."

Harry made a noise of affirmation and closed the channel. Nodding to Kaitlyn he asked. "How are we going about this? Stealth would be preferable, but it could be out of the question."

Kaitlyn nodded and went up to the door, her helmeted visage still conveying the warmth he felt from her touch as she said. "Keep in stealth until we absolutely need to break it. Move on the roofs, you take point."

Harry nodded and walked out with her. Walking out into the heat of the sun he grappled up onto the roof, soaring through the dusty air as he rolled out. Looking over at Kaitlyn he motioned them forward as they began to run across the roofs, with Harry relying on his parkour skills while Kaitlyn made liberal use of her grappling hook to bridge the gaps she couldn't jump across.

After about twenty minutes of running Harry looked down over the edge of the apartment complex he was on and held up his arm to stall Kaitlyn. Motioning her forward slowly he heard her grunt as she too laid eyes on to the group of ADVENT soldiers harassing a couple of children dressed in ragged clothes with small sacks of scrap and salvage they were obviously grabbing from the abandoned houses around. Harry gritted his teeth and flipped up the cover on the scope of his rifle, took aim at one of the three soldiers heads and looked over at Kaitlyn who was aiming her bullpup at one of the other two.

Harry waited until he let out all of his breath before taking the shot, hearing Kaitlyn let out a stream of bullets into one before moving it over to the other trooper, gunning him down too. When he was sure they were both dead Harry jumped down onto the corpse of the Officer he had killed and took off his mask, looking the terrified boys in the eye. "What are kids like you doing here? ADVENT are swarming the place."

One of the boys bashfully spoke out, maybe only 10 years old. "We didn't mean to get caught! Our village's water pump broke recently but we don't have the money to fix it. If we don't get enough stuff to repair it our babies will die of thirst!"

Harry shushed him down as Kaitlyn jumped down next to him. "Don't worry kid, you're not in trouble with me. Grab your gear and make your way back that way, there's no ADVENT there so you should be safe. Are there any more of you in the area?"

The boy nodded sadly and said. "Lucy and the others are up ahead, please save them!"

Harry nodded and donned his mask, standing up he did the most impressive look to the sky he could and said. "You'll see them soon, get going."

Harry grappled up to the next roof as did Kaitlyn, not noticing the awed expression of the children who started to grab their fallen gear. Harry looked over at Kaitlyn who nodded and brought out her comms unit. "This is Helskid to Base. Groups of civilians are present in the AO, scavengers. How do we proceed?"

Harry heard Honos and Volk speaking in hushed tones before Honos said. "Direct them back the way you came, and have them circle the town and return to their home. You are free to engage on any groups of ADVENT harassing them."

Kaitlyn made a noise of affirmation and closed the channel. Harry waited until she put her unit back before running into a sprint again and continued to run along the rooftops. Harry was keeping an eye down into each gap while Kaitlyn was checking the main street every now and then for signs of the civilians. After about 40 minutes Kaitlyn said. "They're on the street, 2 females attacked by 6 ADVENT. I'll handle this."

Harry nodded and got into position to watch over the fight as Kaitlyn jumped off the side of the building to the ground below. Harry put his rifle to be aiming down at the officer should anything go wrong but he needn't worry, as Kaitlyn decimated each and every one of them in just 12 fluid movements. Harry was enraptured as her ripjack sliced through two of them, her bullpup shredded another three and watched in morbid facination as she crushed the windpipe of the last one.

Jumping down himself he ran over to Kaitlyn who was breathing heavily at the exertion. Putting his hand on her shoulder he brought her close and asked. "You alright?"

Kaitlyn nodded and Harry looked own at the children, 12 and 10 years old. They both had similar facial features and hair so Harry assumed they were sisters. "You two are scavengers right?"

The two nodded, to afraid of the bloodsoaked Kaitlyn to speak. "Good. Your friends are safe and on their way back home. Head back that way, grab what you need and circle around the town back to your encampment."

The girls nodded, the older one looking at him in awe, and ran away in the direction Harry pointed it. He looked over at Kaitlyn who had regained her breath and said. "The sewer system should be around here."

Looking around he saw a small building labled in english. 'Sewer Maintenance.' and motioned over to it to Kaitlyn. "Let's go."

Kaitlyn nodded and took point. Knocking down the door she activated her flashlight and saw a small set of stairs from which a ghastly stench was coming. Putting his mask back on Harry nodded in the direction of the stairs and began to walk down them, using the handrail to keep himself steady. At the bottom of the stairs he heard a small dripping and turned on his flashlight, to be met with the sight of a dilapidated sewer. The walkways bordered around a trench full of stagnant water and refuse.

Scrunching up his nose he looked around. Pulling out his comms unit he tried to open a channel to Volk and Honos before hearing only static. Realising that the waves couldn't penetrate the concrete he put it away and said to Kaitlyn. "How do we find this Templar, we're alone."

Kaitlyn nodded and took a deep breath before shouting out. "Templar!"

Harry quickly moved to shush her before he heard a small, quiet voice ask from behind him say. "I am right here, no need to shout Skirmisher."

Harry quickly turned around and sighed in relief. A small girl dressed head to toe in traditional Templar gear was standing there in a loose position. Harry nodded to her and said evenly. "It's good to see you're alive Templar. I am..."

The Templar cut him off. "Reaper Harry Potter, how's the family?"

Harry grit his teeth as Kaitlyn looked over at him curiously. Harry tried his best to keep an even voice as he said. "So your one of us. What do you want out of this?"

The Templar giggled and leaned over against the wall. "Oh, I was forcefed tales of your sister's heroism and I dreamed that one day I could join her. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that my parents had the idea of marrying me off to you to get close to her as well."

Kaitlyn growled and grabbed Harry's arm, bringing it close to her as she asked him. "Harry, what is this all about? What about your sister?"

Harry sighed and leaned up against the wall. "Kaitlyn, name all of the ADVENT sects you know."

Kaitlyn tilted her head and said. "ADVENT, the EXALT Corporation and many others are lead by them through shadow CEOs."

Harry nodded and said. "There's another, one known by most but unknown by most. They're the Death Eaters, and they can use magic."

Kaitlyn looked at him caringly. "Harry, are you alright? You didn't take to hard a hit when we were getting here did you?"

Harry and the Templar laughed and Harry brought out his wand. Kaitlyn looked at it curiously as Harry cast a quick 'Tempus' in front of her. Kaitlyn took one look at the ghostly time of 10:36AM and promptly fainted. Harry reflexively caught her and laid her against him standing up as he looked over at Dementor who was tapping her foot in impatience. "So, I want to know the details of you disappearing."

Harry nodded and said. "When I was 6 I decided that I had enough of my mother and father ignoring me whenever they didn't need me, so I left. I ran the streets of London before I got caught stealing food from the Death Eaters and ran away. I fell into a Reaper Hideout, and met Volk."

The Templar nodded and said. "Lines up. According to the magical world you were stolen away in the night by the Death Eaters. You were never searched for, pronounced dead."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Sound about right. What about you? Why would you join the Templar?"

The Templar laughed and pulled off her helmet, showing off her aristocratic face and blond hair. "My father was a Death Eater, part of their inner circle. My sister Hestia was killed in her sleep by my father as a test of loyalty, so I ran in the night away to one of my mothers friends Kieth. He brought me to Geist, and I joined them. My name? Flora Carrow."

Harry whistled. A couple of his captives had spoken shakily about Carrow during his interrogations. "Damn, maybe not the best candidate for no. 1 Dad. What about this alliance? What do the Templar wish to do with their resistance?"

Flora nodded and put on her helmet again. "To reclaim our rightful power from those that would abuse it. ADVENT and the rest of those that would abuse magic do not deserve it, that is what we fight."

Harry sighed and said. "The Reapers fight for something different, we fight for the people. We fight for the ability to watch our children see the sun, we gave up our humanity for humanity."

Flora nodded and went over to Kaitlyn, hoisting her up with Harry to support her. "We can learn to fight for them, our goals allign. We will join you for the talks."

Harry nodded, mission complete. "Good to hear. You're invited to join us until the talks are over."

Flora tilted her head at him and Harry could imagine the look on her face as she said. "Oh? Inviting a girl back to your place after just meeting her?"

Harry sighed and readjusted Kaitlyn on his arm. "Yhea yhea laugh it up. Don't mention magic to anyone until you know that they know by the way, can't tell. We're going to tell the Skirmishers during the talks tommorow."

Flora nodded and they both walked up and out of the sewers with Kaitlyn. Letting her down quietly and softly he pulled out his comms unit and spoke into it. "This is Potter, negotiations successful. Templar Carrow is in tow, requesting pickup."

He heard a small cough from the other side and Volk spoke up. "Good job Potter, but your transport is compromised. ADVENT started scrambling air vehicles so you'll need to return to the place you left them and..." Flora cut him off. "I can get us back to your base. Act as if we've been travelling for the past 2 hours."

Volk made a grunt and Flora grabbed onto Harry and readjusted her grip on Kaitlyn. Looking at Harry she said. "Don't be alarmed, we're going to apparate into your base. What co-ordinates are they?"

Harry thought about where the first operation took place in relation to how long he was on the transport back. Relaying them to her she nodded and closed her eyes, and Harry felt a small tug before he felt like he was being squeezed through a tube tightly before being spit out at the end. Gasping as his body hit the ground he quickly looked around and saw that they were just outside of the Skirmisher hangar.

Groaning at the feeling he looked over to Flora who was panting heavily while still holding up Kaitlyn. Getting up he ran over to her and grabbed Kaitlyn from her, lightening her burden as she smiled up at him she stood up and took some deep breaths before decompressing back down. Harry pulled Kaitlyn up into a bridal carry and walked over to the Skirmisher hangar and called out. "We're home!"

A couple of the engineers ran up to them and took his rifle from him, but when they tried to take Kaitlyn he growled at them. "I'll bring her back to her room, she's just unconcious."

The engineer hurriedly nodded and went off to do something else. It was at that point when the door to the hangar slammed open and Volk and Honos ran in. Harry snapped his feet together and bowed his head at the sight of Volk, while Flora kept her head held high at the sight of the two. When Volk arrived at them he saluted them and said. "At ease Potter. Is cover intact?"

Flora nodded for him. "Only Helskid knows about Harry's problem right now, so no need to worry. I am Acolyte Flora 'Dementor' Carrow, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Volk nodded at her and said. "Likewise, it's good to know that we can all work together in our resistance. Potter, you're free to take Helskid back to her room. Tell her everything, the Skirmishers will all know by tomorrow anyway."

Honos looked at Volk curiously and asked. "What are we not privy to then?"

Volk laughed and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You'll find out at dinner tomorrow Honos, don't get your panties in a twist."

Honos pouted but relienquished his question as Harry went off out of the hangar with Kaitlyn towards her room. Nodding to a couple of Skirmishers, blushing when one wolf whistled at the two, Harry arrived at her room and unlocked it with his wand. Walking in he locked the door behind him and laid Kaitlyn out on the bed before taking off his clothes, scourgifyed them and got into the shower. He thought about how close his cover was to being blown today and sighed in relief that somebody with the title Dementor wasn't a sadist, as far as he was aware.

Finishing up he walked out of the shower in only a towel to see Kaitlyn waiting patiently on the bed with a glare which demanded. 'Tell me everything, or you die.'

Harry gulped and in a meek attempt at humor. "I don't assume I can take a raincheck on this one?"

Kaitlyn shook her head and got out of her armour in silence. Harry didn't want to admit how much he hated her being mad at him and quietly got dressed into his comfort clothes as Kaitlyn walked into the shower. Harry sighed in the direction of the door and brought out his wand, quickly polishing it down with a facecloth he found into the ground as to not cause any sparks.

When he was done he reviewed any spells he could remember in his head before he heard the shower door open and saw Kaitlyn run out and jump on him. He was about to defend his face before he heard her sobbing and instead opted to circle his arms around her. "Kait? What's wrong?"

Kaitlyn sniffled for a moment before quietly saying. "Sorry, you didn't deserve this..."

Harry chuckled for a moment before bringing her up to her feet and smiling. "Nah don't worry about it, I kept a secret from you and it could have helped us quite a bit. What do you want to know? Nothing is off limits."

Kaitlyn nodded, happy he wasn't mad at her for being unjustifiably mad at him. Looking down at herself she realised that she was only dressed in her underwear and flinched. "What kind of magic can you do?"

Harry realised her predicament and blushed. Pointing his wand at Kaitlyn's closet he remembered one of the dresses she wore and cast. "Accio Kaitlyn's dress."

The closet opened slowly as the dress floated out and into his hand. Handing it over to the stupified Kaitlyn he smirked and said. "Anything else?"

Kaitlyn smiled shyly up at him and asked. "How do you keep magic a secret?"

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his hand, ruffling his hair. "A series of memory wipes, wards and laws. It's illegal to tell a non-magical about magic if they're not related to a witch or wizard. If I was a recognised wizard, I'd be breaking the law."

Kaitlyn nodded and put on the dress quickly. As she was handling her hair she asked. "So, who is Dementor? How did the talks go after I..."

Harry helpfully supplied. "Fainted? Dementor is in the base right now, her name is Flora Carrow. She's a witch who ran away from her father who was a part of the magical sect of ADVENT, the Death Eaters."

Kaitlyn nodded and slowly put down her brush on her desk. Looking back at him she asked seriously. "Harry, if you had the oppertunity to go and learn magic, would you?"

Harry laughed and shook his head. "I've not needed magic for a long time Kaitlyn, I'm not about to go and waste time with colour changing and spot reduction potions."

Kaitlyn sighed out in relief and got up to hug him. "Thanks, I don't want you to leave either. You're the first person I feel like I can talk to openly in so long...Don't go..."

Harry pulled her closer then before, hearing her small breath as he said. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere..."

They stayed like that for a little while before retracting and smiling at one another. Kaitlyn was the first to speak as she asked. "So what's the plan now?"

Harry nodded thoughtfully as he laid his chin in his hand. "Most likely we will be viewed as the poster children for the unity between our groups. After we're done with all of the teething issues I'm probably going to resume normal duty as a Reaper and make up for any kills I've missed."

Kaitlyn pouted, but realised that was the most likely situation. "Right. I wonder if we can be paired together on special operations?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he did some stretches. "Maybe. I'm now a Lieutenant so I may be called to do more grouped assignments as a leader, but I doubt it. I could request to work out of this base, so I wouldn't have to get permission each time."

Kaitlyn nodded fervently and checked the time. "It's about time to head to lunch. Want to join me this time?"

Harry sheepishly nodded and Kaitlyn looped her arm around his and they both walked out into the corridor. Kaitlyn locked the door with her card before looking up at Harry. "Have you been using magic to enter my room?"

Harry nodded and said. "Sorry, didn't want to search you while you were asleep."

Kaitlyn waved him off hurriedly and they walked down towards the mess hall. A few of Skirmishers were gathered in the mess hall already and they nodded to Harry and Kaitlyn before going back to what they were doing. They grabbed their food from the serving table and walked to the table, before being called from the side of the room. "Potter, Helskid!"

Harry turned around and saw Volk standing there with Harry's ash finished Vektor Rifle. Harry laid down his food at his place and walked over to Volk and bowed. "Volk, what's up?"

Volk handed Harry his rifle and said. "You, me, Helskid and Carrow are eating up with the big boys and girls. Polish your boots and put on your dresscoat, tomorrow we're going to start the ballroom dancing, and I want you there. You're dancing with two girls for the night, but your going back to your girlfriends room afterwards."

Harry examined all of the code and realised everything that Volk was instructing of him. For meals they would be sitting at the head of the table, and tommorow the talks will be taking place. He was supposed to get ready for a formal dinner and he was going to be courting Kaitlyn and Flora. Gritting his teeth he said. "Volk, my dancing is rusty as hell."

Volk nodded and quietly said. "I know, and you don't need to do much. I've brought over some clothes for us to use but they're not comfortable. I wish we could have weapons on us, but it's not happening. Come on, times wasting."

Harry nodded and went back to Kaitlyn. Grabbing his meal he said. "Come on, we're heading to the top of the table."

Kaitlyn blanched and nodded, picking up her meal. The two went up to the top of the table and they took their respective seats left for them by Mox and Volk. Harry nodded to Mox and said. "How's the leg old man?"

Mox laughed out and said, amidst the horrified gasps of the rest of the Skirmishers. "I've not seen fire like that since Helskid! I've healed well, how goes your 'progress'?"

Harry smirked back to the curious gazes of Volk and the rest of the Elders, while Flora was just watching the proceedings with amused interest. "Oh it's coming along, met a breakthrough last night."

Mox smirked and nodded. "Good, good..."

They continued to joke around and eat. It was about half way through when Flora asked Harry. "We have not yet discussed this. What boons are we willing to offer each other?"

Harry looked up at Volk and he nodded. Looking down at Flora he said. "Access to our Safehouses, Prisoners and Supplies. Our intelligence networks and knowledge of ADVENT tactics and strategies will be at your disposal."

Flora nodded and said. "Satisfactory. We will be willing to offer shelter and refuge for any of your soldiers on the run. We will train you in our mutual way should you be willing. Our medicine is advanced, thus we will provide it to you should you wish. We are also able to interrogate ADVENT at a much faster and more efficient pace then your ways, so we will offer our services there."

Harry grinned and nodded. "Acceptable. When and how can we expect Geist to get here?"

Flora closed her eyes and made a small praying motion before saying. "Geist will arrive tomorrow, 20 minutes before our dinner."

Harry nodded and turned back to his food, not noticing Kaitlyn looking at Flora with dangerous eyes. She wasn't sure what Flora's game was yet, but she didn't like it one bit. Looking at Harry she looked over his body language, trying to see exactly what he was thinking but failing as he looked just as carefree with undertones of readyness.

Harry finished up his meal and looked over at Volk and asked. "Sir, what do you want me to do?"

Volk put down his fork and said. "Into the savannah kid. I want you to take 20 laps around the entire compound. Light load, and I want it done by dinner."

Harry groaned as the rest of the Skirmishers and Flora looked at him as if he was insane. Betos was the one who spoke up indignantly at Volk's insane command. "Mr Volk! Surely you realise that you could do serious damage to Potter!?"

Harry got up much to the protest of the rest of the group and bowed to Volk. "Your will be done."

Running out of the mess hall to the calls back of the rest of the group he quickly went to Kaitlyn's room and dropped off all of his external clothes, leaving him with just his knife and basic running equipment. Stretching out his back he ran towards the hangar and left the compound. Bathing in the afternoon sun of South Africa for a moment he quickly did his stretches and began to run. At first he took it slower then usual, before quickly amping it up and adding another 50 meters between him and the stone walls of the Skirmisher Base.

It was these times that Harry treasured. Just the sound of his feet on the ground, the wind in his hair and the thoughts in his head as he let out all of the stress of the day. He reviewed everything that had happened in the past couple of days, from the first time he met Kaitlyn, the killing of the ADVENT General, the meeting with Betos...This was why he needed his runs, so he could sort through everything.

He didn't even notice the changing of the colours as he continued his run. He had spent so long running he forgot about the time as he finished up his final lap and was surprised when he saw the sun hanging so low in the sky from where it started. Quickly cooling down he walked back into the hangar and saw Kaitlyn impatiently tapping her foot by the door while Volk was standing there with a stopwatch. "3 Hours Potter, not your worst."

Harry nodded and bowed before looking over to Kaitlyn who went up to him and quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the hangar. Harry was already pretty out of breath so he didn't have the incentive to ask where they were heading as they went lower and lower into the base, passing by multiple other Skirmishers who seemed to smirk knowingly as the two passed by them.

By the time they stopped Harry dropped to his knees panting heavily as Kaitlyn entered a passcode into a panel. Harry regained his breath quickly and asked Kaitlyn, still breathing between words. "What...Is...This?..."

Kaitlyn smiled apologetically back as she opened the door. "Sorry, it's best if you stay exhausted before this. It'll be worth it, trust me."

Harry glared at her before looking into the room and gasping. The entire room was decorated like a pool straight out of Tolkein as Kaitlyn went over to a discrete locker near the side of the room. Grabbing a pair of swimming trunks for him and a bathing suit for herself she passed his to him while saying. "I was waiting for a long time to have this place installed, so be grateful."

Harry nodded still awestruck and quickly took off his clothes, not noticing Kaitlyn bashfully looking away as he put on his trunks. Looking over at her he asked. "Where do I put my clothes?"

Kaitlyn nodded to the locker and Harry quickly went over as Kaitlyn went to change behind a rock. After making sure his knife was visible and safe he went back to the pool and dropped into it, feeling the hot water soothe his muscles as he began to float around in the water. He didn't even notice as Kaitlyn walked out from behind her changing place, pouting at the lack of reaction from Harry.

Joining him in the water he looked over and smiled. "How did you manage to get this place? This is a godsend..."

Kaitlyn giggled, also feeling the water sooth her muscles as she yawned. Settling down she looked over to Harry who was smiling lazily in her direction. "When I got the chance I went back to the cell I destroyed and scrapped the place. Turned out that my father was selling videos of their experiments to perverts, and he was storing the earnings in the cell. When all was said and done I got a pretty big cut, so I decided to have some fun for once. I talked to Betos and she agreed that if I was paying for it, and continued to serve, I could have this place to myself."

Harry nodded and looked back up to the artificial night sky. "I'm glad you did. You know I should have quite a bit as well. In the Reapers we can collect bounties from different clients who are in league with the Reapers, and I do a couple for fun once in a while but I never got the time to spend it."

Kaitlyn looked at him curiously. "Oh? How much do you think you have?"

Harry quickly did some math in his head and eventually reached. "80k, give or take 5?"

Kaitlyn whistled impressively. "Wow, you could get two of these things with that amount. What are you going to spend it on?"

Harry sighed and let his lower body fall beneath the water, only leaving his head up. "I honestly don't know, birthday presents? Your's wouldn't be too far away wouldn't it?"

Kaitlyn laughed as she said. "As a matter of fact it is. August 6th."

Harry made a small 'huh' before saying. "Whoa, mine's on the 31st of July. How long away is that...6 days?"

Kaitlyn made a small noise, confirming his dates and said. "We should do something for it. What do you enjoy doing, recreationally that is?"

Harry thought frantically for a moment before giving up and saying. "Not a clue. I've enjoyed my parkour, so maybe that?"

Kaitlyn nodded and said. "You could easily request some time off and go and head to a class for it. I've heard America is quite parkour friendly."

Harry nodded. "I could, you up for it? I saw you had some nice dresses in your wardrobe, maybe w-we could go s-shopping as well?"

Kaitlyn made a small happy 'mh-hm!' and swam over to him. Harry smiled up at her and nodded. "I've got no idea where to go in America though, any ideas where we could go?"

Kaitlyn slowly nodded, before sinking back into the water next to him. "California, I've always wanted to go there and enjoy the sun. I'm just worried that my eyes..."

Harry chuckled and said. "Your eyes are beautiful as they are Kait, but if you want we can go and get some contact lenses for when you're in public. I'll talk to Volk about it."

Kaitlyn blushed heavily at his complement and snuggled into his side, reveling in his warmth. Harry wasn't sure exactly what was socially acceptable between friends, seeing as he never really had anyone before who he considered a friend, but if Kait was okay with it...

They stayed like that for a while before a small ring was heard off to the side of the pool. Kaitlyn growled in anger, looked at Harry apologetically and swam over to the side and grabbed her comms unit. Picking it up she turned it on before grinding out. "Helskid here, how can I help?"

The voice of an unknown Skirmisher spoke up through it. "Volk is requesting to speak to Potter."

Kaitlyn swam back over to Harry who went over and laid against the side of the pool, letting his body glisten in the light as Kaitlyn surreptitiously checked him out. "Potter here, what's up?"

He heard Volk annoyedly speak through the speaker. "We've got a problem, and a smaller problem. Smaller problem is that I've just gotten a call from one of my clients. You're the only Reaper on hand that I trust with this one. A rival politician of my client has been making a couple of splashes recently in the magical scene, and I need you to put him down. Your being paid handsomely for this one, 2 thousand Galleons. I did the conversion myself, 12 thousand dollars."

Harry whistled and looked over at Kaitlyn who was happily swimming around. "Sounds good, I'll deploy tonight. What's the bigger problem?"

Harry could hear a small noise of a fist hitting a desk as Volk responded. "An owl just arrived carrying a letter with your name on it. I can't open it, and the letter opener broke when I tried. Safe to say it's magical. Has the symbol of Gringotts on the front."

Harry grunted and said. "Don't try anything else, goblins are serious about this stuff aren't they? I'll finish up here and meet you at the mess hall, it's coming up for dinner time right?"

Volk grunted in affirmation and said. "See you there, Volk out."

The channel cut out and Harry sighed, looked like he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. Looking over at Kaitlyn he realised that she had been listening in. She got up out of the water next to him and said. "I guess you'll be having a long night. Harry, I want you to get into bed with me when you get back."

Harry surprised looked down at Kaitlyn who had gotten under his arm and asked. "W-What? I don't have to be in your..."

Kaitlyn quickly shushed him and said. "No, I want you to enjoy your time here. I don't mind it, honest."

Realising that she wouldn't take no for an answer Harry relented and sighed. "Fine, but I'm staying on top of the comforter."

Before she could protest any further Harry got up and out of the water, letting the beads of liquid flow down his legs as he went over to the locker. Grabbing his wand he quickly heated himself to get rid of any moisture and put back on his clothes. Looking over at Kaitlyn she was still changing behind a rock so he waited by the door until she finished up and walked over to him.

Leading the way out she nodded to a couple of Skirmishers on their way to the mess hall. Arriving there without too many more words they grabbed their food and joined the rest of the Elders and Flora who were already eating in silence. Harry immediately sprung up a conversation with Volk who was impatiently sitting with his foot tapping on the ground. "Volk, where's the package?"

Volk grunted at him and threw him a large parchment made envelope sealed with shiny red wax. "There kid. Open it now, I don't want any surprises if anything is imminent."

Harry nodded and opened the letter under the table to avoide any prying eyes. Scanning over it he quickly read.

 _Mr Potter_

 _We here at Gringotts wish to inform you that you are required for a meeting on the evening of the 15th anniversary of your birth. We will be discussing your heirship with your parents and siblings as to decide the direction the Potter family will be taking financially. Seeing as you have no accounts with us that are active we expect you to arrive at 4pm sharp. Please inform a teller of your arrival, and they shall bring you to the meeting room._

 _In Power we Revel,_

 _Kirgt Jawsmasher, Cheif of Heirships and Wills_

Harry ground his teeth and folded it back into the envelope. Looking up at Volk amidst the curious eyes of the Elders. "They've found me. I need to be at their establishment on the evening of my birthday."

Volk was about to reply when he heard a loud thunk as Mox's fist slammed into the table. "Enough secrecy! We are fostering an alliance! Secrets will only breed discomfort and distrust among us!"

There was silence before Volk angrily looked Mox in the eyes with a cool glare. "Well, excuse us for not trusting the ones who slaughtered and maimed our people for years before immediately."

Before Mox could respond Harry was about to step in before he heard Flora say cooly. "Now is not the time, shut up, both of you."

Everyone turned to Flora whose eyes were glowing slightly purple as she spoke in a voice which seemed to make everyone want to obey. "Mox, this matter cannot be discussed in public and will be revealed in due course. Volk, the purpose of our alliance is to forget our past transgressions and work towards a goal we all agree on. If we are unable to cooperate in a manner such as a mere meal, then the Templar have no intention of staying here."

Everyone fell silent again for a couple of moments before Harry spoke up. "Flora is right Volk, Mox. I will be telling you all what is going on here, but it's just not the best time yet. Even most of the Reapers have no idea what we're talking about, hell most of them have no idea I'm anything different than one of them."

With that everyone seemed to calm down, yet a little tension remained between Mox and Volk as they progressed. Eventually when they had finished Harry looked over at Volk and Honos and said. "Where is my op tonight and when?"

Volk nodded and brought out a small piece of paper from under his coat. "Your hitting one of your's, so be careful of the unknown. You'll be deploying to London and I'll be directing from my room until interference kicks in. Apparently this guy's name is Kieth Ogden, his father runs a pretty big whiskey operation but the son had bigger plans in mind."

Harry nodded and got up. "Got it. I'll go and suit up. How am I getting to London?"

Honos nodded and said. "You'll have our transport for getting there, Volk's already discussed this with me so we're good to go."

Harry nodded to him before saying goodbye to Kaitlyn and running towards her room, the thrill of the hunt drumming in his mind as he anticipated the excitement of the night through his tiredness.

 _AN: So this one is done now. Bit harder to write but I'll try and continue with big chapters for the future. I don't own any of the characters which you can recognise from anywhere outside of this story as with locations or items. If you care enough please leave a review to keep me going, goodnight/day people._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Third One

 _Harry's Dreamscape_

 _Harry had no idea what the hell was going on around him. Everything was dark, noises were coming from every direction and he felt completely naked. He had no idea how to deal with a situation like this, he never let himself be caught without his rifle or knife ever._

 _After a couple more seconds of confused panicking Harry's eyes eventually focused to a point where he could see the basic outline of the area around him. It looked like some kind of aristocrat's home decorated in a Victorian English style. He looked down and saw that he was floating of the ground somehow, and a little boy was peeking through a door into what appeared to be a living room. Harry tentatively asked. "Hey kid? Where are we?"_

 _The kid didn't respond, and Harry went up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Kid? You alright?"_

 _Harry was surprised when his hand flew straight through the kid and he stumbled through the door the kid was looking through. What Harry saw when he finally finished tumbling made him growl out in anger, his parents. James and Lily Potter were sat next to each other in front of their oh so special daughter Evelynn as they smiled sweetly at her. Harry dropped into a fighting stance before he realized that none of them were paying any attention to him and were instead conversing. What Harry heard should have shocked him but instead it only made him feel as sad and betrayed as the day he realized that his parents didn't want him as their son. "Eve, you know we love you right?"_

 _Eve nodded impatiently as she pulled her dark black hair over her shoulder. Lily continued from where James left off. "Good good. Now, you remember Mr Dumbledore right? Well, he's organized a special thing for you."_

 _Harry heard a small gasp from behind him and twirled around to see the boy he vaguely remembered as himself slumping to the ground with an old man standing behind him. Levitating Harry's younger self away Dumbledore walked into the room with a grandfatherly smile which Harry could recognize was ingenuine as he said. "Yes, thank you Lily. Now then Evelynn, as the girl-who-lived you must be the bravest young girl of the century hmm?"_

 _Evelynn nodded vigorously and said. "I defeated Vol-volde...?"_

 _Albus helpfully supplied. "Voldemort?"_

 _Evelynn nodded and said thank you before Albus began talking again. "Yes, quite the achievement. Now, I want you to know that he will be coming back."_

 _All of them gasped and Albus waited for them to calm down before he began talking again. "Yes, but I have no intention of being unprepared for the journey ahead. I would like to extend the offer for early magical training to you Evelynn, for you to become my apprentice."_

 _Evelynn shifted around for a moment before asking. "I-If I do...can I help my little brother?"_

 _Lily and James looked very bored with her talk as Albus laughed fakely and said. "Of course you can, ah it has been a while since I've seen dedication like that to family. Maybe since young Sirius Black..."_

 _James cut Albus off as Harry quickly recalled everything he could about Sirius Black. From what the Death Eaters and files on Sirius told him apparently he was the last remaining lord of the Black Family and was notorious for while once promising to lead the Black family into the light side of politics, instead became grey after the events which destroyed Voldemort. Harry looked back up at them and saw that Albus had his wand trained on all of them, while all their eyes were whited over as he said. "You will trust everything I say and do, you will intentionally forget Harry Potter in all matters unless the situation calls for your attention. In those situations, you will act as distant and cold as possible."_

 _Albus dropped his wand into a hidden holster and the Potter's eyes regained their pupils. Albus said conclusively. "Well, it is good to see that you are so willing to prepare for the future. I will owl you the details at a later date James, have a good evening."_

 _As Albus left the room he quickly sent a silent obliviate at the young Harry's body and hit him with an underpowered bludgeoning curse in the head. Harry lifted his hand to his head and remembered the pain he felt that night thanks to what he assumed was a bump falling down the stairs. Just as he was about to go and check over his young body he heard a small beeping as he felt a small hook behind his navel. The last thing he saw was James and Lily looking him dead in the eyes..._

 _End Dreamscape_

Harry gasped as he awoke to the green beeping light of the transport he was flying on. Checking over himself he realized that everything was in order, 6 clips of ammo, claymore...

Hitting a switch on the side the door opened up and he saw that he was on the ground level. Running out he saw the transport's door close and the whole craft fly off and grabbed his comms unit, speaking into it. "Potter here, what am I doing here Volk?"

He heard a long pause before he heard Volk speak up. "Good to hear your safe Potter. Primary objective is the assassination of Kieth Ogden, make his body unrecognizable. Secondary objective is to obtain your ascertain the rules of engagement for the bank meeting, and to obtain a bank account with them. Also, Helskid talked to me about allowing some time off for your birthday as a celebration. If this goes off without a hitch, you can have a week for all I care. You can have all of your cheques when you get back, cash it with the goblins when you're at the bank."

Harry made a grunt and said. "Got it. What's the address of this guy?"

Volk quickly said. "5 Viola Terrance, good hunting Potter."

Volk cut off the channel and Harry dropped into the shadows with his mask on before anybody could start asking questions. Pulling out a small datapad Harry quickly looked up the location of Viola Terrance and saw that it was about 7 kilometers away. Quickly climbing up the fire escape of the building next to him he got up to the top of the roof and took in the sight of nighttime London, noisy, bustling, just the conditions for a stealth mission.

Harry quickly began to run and grapple his way across the rooftops, being nothing more then a dot covering the stars for a split second to a few commoners below him. After a couple of hours he managed to find himself in the quiet little area of London known as Viola Terrace. The walls and windows were eerily similar in design the whole way through the disturbingly quiet alleyway as Harry slowly stalked around the houses until he reached number 5.

Harry quickly assessed the situation, no lights were on, he couldn't feel any magic from around the area. Tentatively he walked forward and tried the door, locked. Pulling out his wand he began to cast a spell before he felt a large magical presence close to popping before he quickly stopped the spell. As he did the presence died off without exploding and Harry made a guess that the guy had locked all of the doors and windows, and had set the wards to trigger when somebody tried to spell their way in. Harry was thankful for his training in casting on electronics or else he may have tripped those wards and paid the price for it.

Bringing out his knife Harry quickly destroyed the wood around the screws of the handle and took it off, destroying the lock in the process. Walking in he wrinkled his nose at the messiness of the place and decided to finish the job fast. Walking up the stairs he quickly found the master bedroom and found the large, wiry man sleeping with several bottles of Firewhiskey, obviously from his family it seemed. Flipping his knife a bit he went over to him and after a moment brought the knife down into his jugular, twisting it as blood spurted up as Harry leaned back to avoid the spray.

Uncaringly looking down at the body Harry got to work slashing up the body to make it look like a real hackjob. While he took no limit of pleasure in ending ADVENT life he never really felt comfortable killing humans, but then again he was a Reaper, and the target shouldn't have made rich enemies.

When he was done Harry walked around and found anything he thought was expensive, stuffed it into his coat. While he didn't usually grab anything from his kill's homes he felt like we would want to grab something nice for Kaitlyn, so this would be a way to pay for it. Finishing his quick loot he walked out of the house and went up onto the roof before bringing out his comms unit and saying into it. "Potter here, Ogden is dead. Also, start using Spectre for now."

He heard a small grunt after a while and head Volk say. "Good job Spectre. I've got Dementor here with me, she'll direct you from here."

A small clunking was heard as the unit was passed over and Harry heard Flora speak on the other side. "Dementor here Spectre. You're close as hell to Diagon Alley, two blocks down your going to get to the main road which contains the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron. Don't take that entrance, you'll probably be detained as fast as you get into the main street in Reaper clothing. Head back into the house and look around for a fireplace. Light it up and find a jar on the mantle full of green powder. You're going to want to throw half a handful in, but use a full handful just in case. When the fire turns emerald green walk into it and call out 'Diagon Alley', that'll bring you straight into Diagon Alley. The big marble building is Gringotts. Head up to a free teller, keep your head high and ask away. If they ask for identification hold out your hand and they'll handle the rest."

Harry grunted and closed off the channel before dropping back down to the ground. Walking back through the destroyed door he quickly explored around and found the living room with ease. Locating the fireplace he realized that he had no idea about a spell which could cause a fire and so he went into the kitchen and ruffled through the cupboards. Finding a small lighter among the various moldy towels and oven gloves Harry went back into the living room and lit up the coals with a bit of lighter fluid from his tactical rig.

Watching as the whole thing became a roaring flame Harry threw the lighter to the other side of the room and searched the mantle piece for the green powder. Eventually finding a Tupperware container containing the green powder he threw a handful of it into the fire, watching as it swirled into a deep verdant green. Tentatively passing his hand through it he felt no heat or pain from the flames and stepped inside, calling out as clear as possible. "Diagon Alley."

He felt a wave of sickness crash over him as he was swirled away into a rainbow of colours. After a couple of agonizing seconds Harry was spat out at the other side down into the wooden ground of some kind of medieval pub. Looking around he saw a couple suspicious faces along with a man behind the counter looking at him suspiciously. Getting up and working out any kinks in his back he went up to him and said. "Hey, mind telling me where the Alley is?"

The pub visibly relaxed at his statement and the man said with a smile. "Ah, must be from America based on your accent eh? Well welcome to Britain young sir, I'm Tom. Here, I'll show you into the alley."

Harry nodded thankful that his mask didn't come off and was lead away by Tom who went out a door to the side into an alleyway. "Here, three up and two across from this bin. Tap it twice with your wand and it will make the entrance to Diagon Alley."

Tom did it for him as to demonstrate and the gateway opened. Harry nodded to him with a word of thanks and entered into the unknown territory. Looking around he saw the standard wizarding fare, potion shops, broom shops the like. Walking through the crowd as inconspicuously as possible he quickly made his way into the Gringotts bank, wincing at the poem and remembering what he had just done.

Entering into the bank he saw that it was rather quiet due to it being night time and quickly went up to a free teller. "Hello, my name is Harry Potter and I wish to open an account with your bank."

The teller looked down at him appraisingly and said curtly. "Identification."

Remembering Flora's instructions he extended his hand and the goblin grabbed it. Pulling off his glove the goblin pulled out a long, wicked looking dagger and sliced along his finger. The knife seemed to attract the blood as a long sliver of it was drawn out of his finger before the goblin brought it back and ran his long, snakelike tongue across the blood.

Harry was pretty disgusted by the display but the goblin nodded after he wiped his mouth off. "You are Harry Potter. You currently have no accounts available to you, and you have an appointment in approximately 5 days. You wish to open a new account, correct?"

Harry nodded and took back his glove, slipping it back onto his hand. The goblin made a couple notes within his ledger before a large, brass key materialized in his hand. Handing it to Harry he said. "Your vault number is 1779, don't forget it. If you wish you may make a deposit of all of those valuables if you have no use for them right now."

Harry's eyes went wide with shock as the goblin managed to spot all of the hidden valuables on him. "But I'm a th..."

The goblin cut him off. "Thief? No, you won those through Right of Conquest and Revenge through the goblin laws. Kieth Ogden owed us many debts, and by defeating him you are legally able to claim all of his material goods."

Harry sighed and said quietly, making sure nobody heard. "Okay then, I want all of this stuff turned into cash and put into my vault please. Anything else he owned is yours if you keep everything quiet."

The goblin nodded and Harry placed all of the rings and jewels onto the desk in front of him. The goblin snapped his fingers and all of it disappeared as he said. "870 Galleons."

Harry nodded happily and said. "Turn them into pounds please."

The goblin nodded and said. "5220 Pounds. Do you wish to take a Gringotts Debit Card for any purchases?"

Harry nodded and the goblin snapped his fingers, causing a small brown wallet appear in front of him. Handing it to Harry who opened it up to see a small golden card within he said. "A complement from Gringotts for your disposal of Ogden. Your pin is that of your vault number."

Harry nodded and said. "Am I allowed to know anything about the proceedings 5 days from now?"

The goblin shook his head and said. "I am unable to know any of the inner workings of the Heirship sector of Gringotts, and you should not be able to either. Will that be all?"

Harry shook his head. "Are you able to provide me with magical transportation, for a price?"

The goblin nodded and asked. "Gringotts offers many services, do not hesitate to ask for anything. Where do you need to get to?"

Harry gave him the coordinates of the Skirmisher base, well close to them, and the goblin nodded. "Of course. I will deduct the 350 Galleon total from your account."

Harry was handed a small piece of paper from the desk and the goblin said. "Thank you for your business. Simply say 'Gringotts' to activate the portkey."

Harry nodded with a word of thanks and said the activation key, being whisked away into the savannah of Africa. Getting up of the ground he annoyed said to himself. "Dammit, need to get better magical transportation..."

Looking around he saw the Skirmisher base on the horizon and quickly ran over to it. It took him about 20 minutes to get there but when he arrived he quickly went up to the front gate and saw the guards point their bullpups at him. One of them quickly shouted out. "Hey! What's brings you here?"

Realizing that they wouldn't recognize him in the dark he quickly took off his mask and shouted, thankful to be free of the stuffiness. "It's just me! Lieutenant Reaper Harry Potter!"

One of them grunted and said. "Name the Templar you brought in yesterday!"

Harry groaned in annoyance and said. "Flora 'Dementor' Carrow, we done?"

The guard shouted. "Yep, sorry we needed to confirm it was you."

The gate swung open and Harry walked in. Bringing out his comms unit he quick said into it. "Volk, Potter here."

All he managed to receive was static however. Looking down at it he realized that the magic must have been too much and fried it. Yet again grunting in annoyance he quickly went to Kaitlyn's room while checking the time, about 3am. It was pretty early so he probably could get some sleep before tomorrow. Quickly unlocking the door with his wand he walked in slowly as to not disturb Kaitlyn and locked it behind him.

Looking over to the bed he saw Kaitlyn quietly snoozing away and smiled softly down at her body. Shuffling off his trench coat and mask he quietly sat them down on his crate neatly and cast a scourgify at himself, ridding him of all of the sweat and debris of the day. Laying on top of the comforter of the bed he quickly fell asleep, his back to Kaitlyn no matter how right it felt in the few seconds he spent facing her.

 _Timeskip, 5am_

Kaitlyn awoke with a bat of her eyes. In the darkness it was pretty hard to see but the pressure and small outline of Harry in her bed was pretty telling. Sighing at his reluctance to enjoy himself here she readjusted herself before quickly pulling the cover from under him. He was fast asleep already so he didn't notice the quick shift as Kaitlyn now held the whole sheet. Throwing it over both of them she snuggled closer up to his back and looped her arms around his abdomen once more. Kaitlyn didn't notice how bright her eyes glowed in that moment, neither did she notice the small red glowing coming from the place where Harry's heart would be on his chest.

 _Timeskip 7am_

Harry groggily opened his eyes to see that yet again he had managed to get under the covers. Not groaning but making a noise of defeat he turned his head to see Kaitlyn still fast asleep. As quietly as possible he got up and out of the covers, not without a drop of terror when she shuffled around agitatedly at the lack of heat. Grabbing his trench coat, he slowly got his clothes on, being as quiet as can be before walking out of the room. Running slowly towards the canteen he nodded to a couple of the early guards as he reached the hall. Nobody was around but he saw Volk and Honos talking up at the head of the table and walked over. "Sir!"

Volk nodded at him and motioned him down as he rifled around in a satchel. "Potter, good to see you. Why did you not report in last night?"

Harry sheepishly bowed his head as he sat down. "The operation fried my comms unit. I got back last night and just crashed."

He nodded satisfiedly and handed him a fat envelope. "There's your payments and all the outstanding ones yet to be processed. 1.5 Million with tax. Also, you can have the next week off along with Helskid. That envelope has the cheques needed for the transactions with your bank along with some physical."

Harry nodded at him and took the envelope, staring at it in wonder from the amount before stuffing it down into one of his pockets and zipping it up. Grabbing his meal he quickly began to wolf it down, not noticing the grin on both the men's faces. When he had finished Honos said. "So what are your plans for your holiday? Helskid was rather quiet about it."

He was about to respond when the doors slammed open. Looking over to the entrance Harry saw Flora storming towards him, and when she got there she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up while whispering. "You've been confirmed alive by the wizarding media, someone had bugged Gringotts. Nobody saw your face, nobody can associate you with the Reapers, but they're running around like mad men trying to find you."

Harry swore and pulled Flora's hand off him. "Fuck! Alright I think we should leave it until the day of the meeting."

She nodded and sat down at the table, rubbing her head in stress as Harry turned to Volk and Honos. "While that's not good news, it isn't the most serious. Anyways, I was thinking of taking Kait and going to California and do some parkour there, also some shopping."

Honos smirked at him and continued to ask lazily about some details. It felt nice to simply talk to someone else for a change, but eventually Honos stood up and claimed that he needed to go and review some people. Turning back to Flora Harry said. "I'm going to need your help to learn that little trick, mind doing it today?"

Flora nodded and was about to respond when Kaitlyn dropped down into the seat next to Harry, instantly leaning against him. He was about to ask her to get up before giving in and wrapping an arm around her. Flora smirked at the two and said. "Well, I'm certain it can wait. Meet me at my room, I'll teach you what I can about getting places."

That was all Harry needed before his attention was firmly grabbed by Kaitlyn. The lack of tension in the atmosphere was almost exhilarating, but eventually Kait also had to go and do some training with the newbies and left Harry in the mess hall. This was about the first time he had been properly bored, but eventually he decided on heading out to the nearby lake and take a walk. When he got there he was surprised to see that he wasn't the only person there, as Flora was meditating at the side of the river. Walking up to her he laid his hand on her shoulder, breaking her out of her reverie. "Oh, Harry. I didn't notice you there."

He nodded and said. "Well, I came down here to take a walk when I saw you here."

She smiled up at him, looking more serene then before and said. "How about we do that apparition here and now? No-one is around, and it is wide enough so that we may not lose each other."

Harry brought out his wand and Flora calmly lead him through the process, watching as he slowly managed to blink around the clearing before eventually traversing the entire savannah with a single jump. Flora knew that it was much easier for him with a teacher like her, but his progress was still astounding for a single day and a 15 year old. Coming up beside her Harry asked. "So what next? I really want to try inter-continental."

She viciously grinned at him and said. "Well, have a go at it then. Go to London, and come back again. It's the same procedure."

Harry didn't seem to notice her apparent malice but instead closed his eyes, focused on his destination and twirled, disappearing in thin air. Flora blinked at the space, waiting for a minute before Harry reappeared with a loud pop. He was holding a small flagon of butter beer and smilling confidently. "That wasn't too hard you know. I wonder if America will be any different…"

Flora just frowned at him and said. "Do you mind if I checked your magical levels? This is pretty unusual for a new start."

Harry nodded and dipped his head, taking a small sip of butterbeer. Flora laid her hand on his forehead and began to shake as she felt the immense pressure on her body. Gasping she fell to her knees and said. "Oh Morgana above…That was intense…"

Standing back up she pulled the worried Harry closer and began to inspect his forehead, in particular his scar. Harry waited under her scrutiny before she pulled back and nodded, seemingly understanding what was going on. "It appears that Voldemort left some kind of mark on you, magical that is. Essentially it allows you to access a level of knowledge from the Death Eaters you kill, kind of like a mental version of the Dark Mark."

Harry slowly stroked his fingers over his scar and asked concernedly. "Wait, so it could go both ways?"

She shook her head with a smile and sat back down. "Nah, Voldemort only takes his followers knowledge at their initiation. After that, they're free to do as they please."

He nodded happily and said. "So I can obtain magic just by killing Death Eaters huh? That'll be useful."

Flora giggled and said. "You'll learn how to do it, not doing it. You still need to practice it before it will be perfected."

Harry pouted and pulled her to her feet, noticing the sight of the sun in the distance hanging dangerously low. "Come on, we need to get back to base."

Flora nodded and twisted in the air, apparating back into her room. Smiling Harry did the same, giving his wand a sharp twist and focusing on his and Kaitlyn's room. After a moment he opened his eyes, only to be met by the form of the naked Kaitlyn. Quickly closing his eyes Harry stammered out an apology to the dumbfounded Kaitlyn and turned around, letting her get dressed. When he felt a finger on his shoulder he turned around to be met with Kaitlyn's blushing smile. "Don't worry about it, kay? Just teleport into the corridor after everybody knows."

Harry nodded, still too embarrassed to say anything as he went over to his crate and grabbed a fresh comms unit. "Volk, Potter here. Do you have my get-up ready?"

It cracked awake and he heard Volk say. "It is. Head down to 301 and we'll get changed for it."

Stripping off his normal clothes Harry left the room as Kaitlyn was getting into her dress and made his way to Volk's room. Knocking he saw the door open and a sight he would never expect to see, Volk struggling with a tie and suit. "Hey Potter, you know how to do these things?"

Quickly searching his memories Harry found a few disjointed memories from the Death Eaters about a spell used for getting ready. Closing the door he pointed his wand at Volk and cast. "Presti Accelero."

The tie began to move like a snake and tied itself perfectly around Volk's neck as the rest of his suit realigned itself. Volk whistled at the display and said. "Damn, that's pretty handy. Alright get dressed up Potter, we move in T-10."

Harry saluted and walked over to where the outfit was hung on an open door to the en suite. Quickly shrugging off his old clothes he spelled himself clean before throwing the outfit on and casting the same spell he used on Volk on himself. Shrugging to alleviate the stiffness of the suit he turned back to the waiting Volk and said. "I'm ready, rules of engagement sir?"

He stood up from where he was leaning against the wall, looking every bit the leader of the Reapers that he was. "No weapons, no fights. I want you to be on your best behavior with Helskid and Carrow, we could use them later on specialist missions. Leave talking to me, but if one of their big wigs addresses you do what you need to."

Harry nodded and followed him out of the room, his dress boots clacking slightly on the hard wooden floor as they made their way up and to the highest level of the compound. Harry looked over the edge and saw over the entire area, shivering slightly at the height of it. Eventually they reached a door and Volk turned back to Harry. "Remember the plan and try to enjoy yourself, consider this a mission."

Harry nodded and Volk turned back to the door, and pushed it open. Inside was something of a dining room, with a large chandelier and ornate paintings around the walls. Betos, Mox and Honos were sat at the head of a large table, along with a man who's face was covered by a large, circular mask with ornate decoration in the form of purple inlays. Kaitlyn and Flora were sat at the end of the respective chains, both in beautiful dresses which appear to have been tailor made for this night considering their colours matched their faction's modus operandi. Keeping in step behind Volk, the two Reapers sat down at the end of the table, filling the last two seats. Betos stood up and said. "Welcome, friends and visitors, to this commune of our factions. We have gathered you here in hopes to end hostilities, and present a more united front against the tide of ADVENT and their subsidiaries."

Volk stood up and said. "It is a pleasure Elder Betos, but I don't believe I have had the pleasure Mr?"

The masked figure turned up to Volk and a simple, robotic voice came from it. "My name is Geist Commander Volk, nothing more or less."

Standing up the figure stated. "I apologize for not showing my face, but it is integral for my health that I do. I hope you will forgive this transgression."

All of the elders nodded at Geist and they all sat back down. Betos snapped her fingers and a few butlers appeared from the sides, holding bottles of expensive looking wine. They poured all of them a glass before stepping back, leaving Betos to speak. "Well, let us begin shall we? We at the Skirmishers wish to invite your groups together in an alliance, a united front against the tide of ADVENT. We offer our services and knowledge in the field of combat techniques and equipment, along with any other reasonable request you may have of us."

Volk took the initiative after this. "The Reapers will offer much the same, with our safehouses and a large number of prisoners as examples. We are also willing to offer our soldiers on missions which we are more suited for then your own units."

Geist opted to stay seated this time as his robotic voice said. "The Templar are willing to offer our knowledge in medicine to this mutual cause, and in training any of your people with aptitude in our ways."

Volk and Betos nodded to him and Volk turned back to Betos. "Even if an alliance is not reached today, I wish to allow us to continue the exchange of information. As such, it is about time that we revealed the secret that has caused turmoil amongst us. Potter, if you will?"

Harry was genuinely surprised at how well Volk could talk formally and stood up. Pulling out his wand he began to explain in as clear a voice as he could. "ADVENT controls many sects, the Exalt corporation and their own PMC being examples of them. I will demonstrate the abilities of their least known group, the Death Eaters."

Bringing his wand to his side Harry focused on the space behind Betos and twisted, apparating next to her with a pop. All of the elders turned around in surprise as Harry apparated back to his own seat, trying to contain his laughter at their reactions. Flora and Kait were less successful, hiding their giggles behind their hands. Harry waited for the shock to dissipate before saying. "Yes, there is an energy in the world akin to what we would call magic. The Templars control it, but there is an entire underground society that uses magic away from non-magical eyes."

Honos spoke up as Betos was still calming down. "So what else can you do? If we are able to command these weapons in battle, and even in normal situations, we could increase our effectiveness by a massive amount."

Harry sat back down, feeling Kaitlyn's hand intertwine with his free one he said. "Only those born with magic can learn to use it, but I'm willing to help in any situation I can. If the Templars are willing, we could scan our respective factions for personnel with the gift?"

Geist and Flora nodded and said. "We have no objections to training those worth in the art, but it will take some time to fully scan the population."

Betos calmed down enough to say shakily. "T-Thank you for sharing that with us, how did we… Never mind, this is simply another perk of this alliance. Now, are we all in agreement that a formal alliance would do us well?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and Betos stood up, holding up her glass to the other two leaders. "In the shadows, we keep our vigil."

Volk stood up and mimicked her. "They are the food, we are the hunters."

Geist stood up as well and held up his glass, still full from not being able to drink it from behind his masl. "Cleanse the unworthy, retake our domain."

Everyone chanted their respective mantra before drinking, sans Geist of course, and the alliance was sealed. They all sat back down and the meal was brought our for them, a stew apparently native to the area around them. Harry dug into his meal with as much grace as he could muster, making small talk with Flora and Kaitlyn who appeared to be trying to get as close as possible to him from across their seats while the adults conversed among themselves. Eventually as they were coming to the end of their meal Geist turned his helmeted head to Harry and said. "Potter, I believe it would be prudent to inform the Skirmishers about your past. This might help us understand your appointment on your birthday."

Harry turned to the curious Skirmishers and sighed, folding his arms as Volk nodded his consent. "In the magical world I am something of a figure in the public. Years ago there was a leader of the Death Eaters who decided that my family were too big of a threat, and moved to eliminate my sister and I. He killed off the babysitter, but when he turned to my older sister and cast the Killing Curse, it rebounded and killed him. We have reason to suspect he's still alive, but my family went into the limelight while I stayed behind. It got to a point where I left to provide for myself on the streets, but that was when I found myself in the employ of the Reapers."

Kaitlyn tightened his grip on arm as Honos began to mutter under his breath. After a few seconds Volk nodded to Harry and said. "You're one of us now, there is no reason for you to go back."

Remembering the dream he had on the way to London Harry said. "I don't have any proof but it could come to that. I'll fill you in later, but I think there's another figure in the magical stage, Albus Dumbledore."

Geist and Flora growled at the name, and everyone turned to them. Flora took up the explanation. "Dumbledore is the headmaster of the wizarding school in Britain, and one of the biggest players in politics. We know him for his manipulations, and it wouldn't surprise me if he's touched your family considering their status."

A small pressure built up in Harry's chest, but it wasn't what he felt when he saw Kaitlyn sleeping. "Goddamit, then I guess this is more then I realized. In my…I guess my vision, I saw him casting an Obliviate and Imperio on them."

Flora nodded and sank back in her chair, rubbing her forehead. "This is much bigger than I expected if this proves to be true… Okay we'll deal with this after you get back with Kaitlyn, no need to rush things. I'll put some protections in place for now but expect some problems later."

Harry frowned and laid back. Turning to Volk Harry said. "I'm going to go and cash in these cheques now and try and secure myself as best I can."

Standing up Harry tried to alleviate himself from Kaitlyn's grasp gently, faltering when it was obvious that she wasn't letting go. Opting for another approach Harry quickly kissed her cheek, shocking her away from him and apparated to their room. Quickly grabbing his satchel full of cash Harry focused hard on Gringotts and twisted his wand, firmly clutching the satchel. After a few agonizing seconds Harry was deposited in the main foyer, on his knees. It was tiring but doable in his opinion. Walking over to an open Teller Harry said. "I wish to make a deposit to vault…1779. By cheque and cash."

The goblin looked up and smiled ferally. "Of course, if you would?"

Harry opened the satchel and brought out the envelope. Handing it to the goblin he scanned it over before grabbing a small green stone and waving it over the envelope before putting it down a chute. "1.5 Million US Dollars, equivalent to 500K Galleons. Do you have any other business here, a blood test perhaps?"

He turned up to the goblin and lifted an eyebrow. "What does that entail?"

The goblin brought out a list which had sharp, almost illegible by human standards writing on it. "Well Mr Potter, the Blood Test is performed on all prominent members of society. It will reveal characteristics about your magic, classified by the Department of Mysteries. All we require is 5 minutes, 300 Galleons and a drop of blood."

Harry thought over the prospect for a moment before shrugging and nodding. "Sure, no harm in it right? Deduct the total from Vault 1779 please."

Doing the standard identification procedure the goblin jumped down form it's large seat and walked around the counter. "If you would follow me Mr Potter, we will proceed to the ritual room."

Following the goblin amongst the stares of a few straggling wizards they eventually reached the room. It was much more tribality then the other rooms, with a large depiction of a tree with various sigils etched into it. Moving over to the tree the goblin took out a wicked looking dagger and handed it to Harry. "A prick from your finger if you will."

Harry flipped the knife in his hand once before bringing it down on his index finger, watching as the blood pooled in a small well on the knife. Handing it back to the goblin Harry stepped back and watched the goblin work. Doing a small spell on the knife he stabbed it into the roots of the tree, making the blood splatter across it. The roots appeared to absorb the blood and made it travel upwards, filling in specific sigils on its way. Taking a piece of parchment from a stack on a table the goblin waved its finger over the tree and placed it on the parchment, causing words to appear in blood red ink.

Handing it back to Harry he said. "If you have any queries, please ask them now."

Harry scanned over the parchment and whistled, a pretty long list if he said so himself. But upon closer inspection, his heart sank.

 _ **Harrison James Potter**_

 _Son of James Potter and Lily Evans Nee Potter_

 _ **Relations**_

 _Heir Apparent to House Potter_

 _Heir Disputable to House Black_

 _ **Magical Dispositions**_

 _Transfiguration and The Dark Arts_

 _ **Current magical links outside of family**_

 _Godson of Sirius Orion Black by the Godfather Ritual_

 _Employee of Volk Jackson_

 _Apprentice to Flora Carrow in Magical Tutelage_

 _Sworn Rival of Thomas Riddle by prophecy_

 _Lovesworn of Kaitlyn Helskid_

 _ **Current Contracts**_

 _Various Marriage Contracts to lesser houses_

 _Notable Marriage contracts (Greengrass, Abott, Bones, Dumbledore.)_

 _Contract of exclusivity to Gringotts Bank_

Looking up from the parchment Harry asked shakily. "Marriage contracts… What… How…"

The goblin nodded gravely in understanding. "I understand you've not been made aware of your responsibilities as heir to house Potter and Black. As the current oldest living male of two patriarchal ancient and noble houses, you are expected to honour at least one contract from each family. As it appears you have a Lovesworn bond with a non-magical however, the deadline for the honourment is in 3 years."

Harry nearly vomited from the shock before continuing. "Can I get any information on the individual contracts and their participants? And what is this Lovesworn thing?"

The goblin nodded and snapped his fingers, causing files to fly in from under the door. Handing the stack to Harry he said. "These are the notable contracts and their participants. Normally you would be unable to access these until your majority, but as you are in the business of war by Goblin standards you are an adult. As for the Lovesworn, it is something that we Goblins have only witnessed among humans. It is a bond which entails that your destinies will forever be intertwined, and should the other fall, you will too."

He looked down at his watch before saying. "It appears that the dinner rush nearly done. If you wish to avoid the media, I would recommend you leave now."

Harry shook his head to shake himself out of his stupor and cleared his throat. "Well, thank you for your services today."

The goblin nodded and lead the two back out and into the foyer of the main bank. Rushing outside Harry quickly apparated back to the outside of his and Kaitlyn's room, thinking over what the parchment had told him about him and Kaitlyn. Setting down all of his files in the crate Harry apparated back to the dining room to see all of them conversing amongst themselves over various pudding dishes. All of them turned to him in surprise and Volk grinned at him, noticing his disheveled appearance. "Christ above Potter, your dog die?"

Harry glared at him and sat back down in his seat, quickly repairing himself while saying. "Not quite, but it looks like things are much, _much,_ worse then I thought…"

Kaitlyn sympathetically rubbed his back as he took a long sip from his glass, noticing that the flavour had become somewhat more powerful then what he was drinking before. Volk waved him off and said. "We've got this, don't worry Potter. You just focus on enjoying your first ever holiday, got it?"

Everybody that wasn't a Reaper looked at them in abject horror. Betos spoke in an imperious voice which betrayed the shock that she was feeling. "Volk, is this the same with every Reaper?"

They both turned to her and Volk shook his head. "As long as they finish their quotas for the time they're going to be off, we don't really give a damn about what they do. The thing is, Harry never takes a break be it from operations or training."

Kaitlyn wrapped her arm around his and pulled it close to his, applying just enough pressure to make him feel comfortable. All of the others looked at him questioningly and he said. "Well ADVENT isn't going to stop any time soon, and I'm sure as hell letting them win with or without anybody's help."

They all fell into an uncomfortable silence before one by one they stood up and left the room, contemplating Harry's declaration. ADVENT had killed and maimed children, even indoctrinated them, but to cause a child to have that much drive just to see them fall was eye opening. Eventually it was just Harry and Kaitlyn left and she sighed, pulling herself closer to his side. "Well, I think that could have gone worse."

He chuckled lowly before she spoke again. "You know, I think I want to spend a night in the pool and unwind. You ever done something like this before?"

Harry shook his head and pulled her close, apparating down to the rockpool. Kaitlyn dropped the floor at the sensation and glared up at his laughing form. "Damn it Harry! Tell me if you're going to do something like that!"

Lifting his hands in surrender Harry began to strip, not caring for Kaitlyn's eyes on his rippling form as he pulled on his trunks. Knowing that there was something of a bond between them, he felt strangely comfortable around her, like he could tell her every secret and never regret it. Dropping down into the pool Harry just let his arms and legs fall asleep as Kaitlyn floated over to him and tucked herself into the side of his arm. Neither of them noticed just how comfortable they were together, nor would they realize that if anybody saw them they would think that they were born for each other. All Harry could think about was the feeling in his chest as he felt Kait's chest rise and fall next to him, and the small glow emanating from his chest which he scarcely noticed as he fell into the realms of sleep.

 _AN: Well, we meet again traveler. I would offer a proper excuse but Sea of Thieves and DND have been taking up most of my time and I've got a folder of one shots which could be considered crimes against literature. Anyways, I own nothing, and any boners / arousal made from later installments are to be anticipated and acted upon. But that's XCOM baby._


End file.
